Following on the heels of its bendable LCD screens, LG Display has released a super-thin speaker meant to be hidden away in the cabin of a car. A “global audio business” (LG didn’t specify which) collaborated with LG to create the Thin Actuator Sound Solution to replace conventional car speakers.
Photo Credit: LG Display
Instead of using conventional speaker components like voice coils, cones, and magnets, this device makes use of “film-like exciter” technology. The company claims that this may create a “rich, 3D immersive sound experience” by vibrating display panels and other elements inside the vehicle.
Panels weigh only 1.4 ounces and have a footprint of 5.9 by 3.5 inches, making them easy to conceal in otherwise visible locations like a car’s dashboard, headliner, pillar, or headrests. This, according to LG, allows for more available areas where speakers would ordinarily be placed.
Vibrating screens with a similar design have already been employed in OLED televisions by Sony and LG. If the sound quality claims made by LG Display are true, however, new use in automobile interiors presents significant benefits. LG plans to demonstrate the technology at CES 2023 (yup, that’s really soon), so we may have a chance to find out for ourselves. In the first half of 2023, LG plans to release these speakers to the public.
