LG Display has developed a new “invisible” speaker technology for cars that use passport-sized vibrating panels to produce sound. The technology was developed in conjunction with an unnamed “global audio company” and is expected to be available next year for use in car interiors, installed in places like dashboards and headliners.
The Korean technology giant’s Thin Actuator Sound Solution is being promoted as an alternative to traditional speaker systems in cars and other vehicles. Unlike current in-vehicle speaker systems that use heavy-duty components such as voice coils, audio disks and magnets, Thin Actuator Sound Solution uses LG Display’s thin-film actuator technology to generate sound by vibrating the display panel and various materials inside the vehicle, which LG Display claims will bring “a rich, 3D immersive sound experience “.
The panel itself is 2.5 millimeters thick (about the stack of two coins) and measures 150 millimeters by 90 millimeters, allowing it to be mounted in unconventional locations such as dashboards, headliners, pillars and headrests. According to LG Display, the panel weighs 40 grams, making it only 30 percent of the weight and 10 percent of the thickness of conventional car speakers.
LG Display and Sony are both using similar vibrating panels in OLED TVs, but while the technology itself is not an entirely new innovation, it has yet to see widespread adoption as a replacement for traditional audio systems. We’ll hear it in action at the 2023 International CES in Las Vegas in January.
