Newlands has recently introduced its first commercial audio product to the market, the Soundbug, an audio device, similar in shape to a PC mouse but slightly smaller; driven directly by a Walkman/Discman, it is attached to plane surfaces such as table tops or windows, transforming the whole surface into loudspeakers.
Newlands design and innovation work is based on magnetostriction - the process by which a material changes its shape in response to a magnetic field. Terfenol-D is a material that displays extreme magnetostrictive properties and will expand and contract at high speeds, creating strong forces. These forces are used to convert and amplify audio signals. Future new product projects to watch out for include 'Whispering Windows' utilizing FeONIC sound devices to drive audio into retail or transportation windows for BGM or advertising PA; a 5.1 home cinema audio system that uses windows, shelves, table tops, ceilings, walls etc as loudspeakers (this system would still require a conventional sub bass unit to produce the deep bass required); Satellite Sound which allows a user to take a wireless device around the house, using tables, shelves, work surfaces, as remote loudspeakers to listen to an audio source anywhere in the house and Sound-Light, an audio/visual display concept.
(Ruth Rossington)
