Loudspeaker innovation set to revolutionise audio market

Mar 30 2009 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post

A Coventry technology firm is ready for a boom in business thanks to a revolutionary new loudspeaker.

Warwick Audio Technologies has created a flat flexible speaker, which produces high-quality sound using thin conductive foils, insulating polymer films and a power source.

The speaker is the thinnest in the market, and has generated interest from car, public address and audio visual manufacturers.

The firm, based at the University of Warwick Science Park’s Venture Centre in Coventry, is now in talks with worldwide companies about introducing the technology.

Steve Couchman, managing director of Warwick Audio Technologies, said: “This is an unique design for a speaker and our company is at a very exciting stage.

“We’ve had a lot of interest from a range of industries – people who want to use the technology in anything ranging from cars to whiteboards to posters!

“The speakers are directional so the sound they produce is extremely clear.

“Also, because it is flat, the speakers can be concealed by walls and ceilings.

“We believe places such as airports or train stations are going to be using it for their public address systems.

“We’re also in talks with television manufacturers who may want the use our product within their flat-screen TVs.

“It’s an exciting time for us and we’re confident that 2009 can be a huge year for the company.”

Warwick Audio Technology was formed in 2002 after a University of Warwick PhD project. The company received £500,000 funding two years ago to develop the product and is now ready for commercialisation.

Angela Childs, of the University of Warwick Science Park, said: “Warwick Audio Technologies has a unique, patented speaker design and it’s exciting to think of the potential for the company.”