The Wall Street Journal 2009 Technology Innovation Awards This year's winners include: a tool to identify new disease strains, an artificial hand, a solar-powered base station for mobile phones and paper-thin flexible speakers.
摘錄 東森新聞 科技中心／綜合報導 聽音樂必用的喇叭常常因為體積大、佔空間而讓人感到困擾，最近工研院研發了一項新產品「紙喇叭」，厚度不到1厘米，薄薄一片就能讓人聽到媲美劇院等級的聲音。 奇怪怎麼只聽得到聲音，卻沒看到發出聲音的來源？到底是什麼東西這麼神奇？答案竟然是薄薄一片用紙張做成的「紙喇叭」。工研院最新研發，以厚度不到一厘米的紙張作為材質，上頭還有一個個的小洞，利用金屬薄膜來當電極，透過震動的原理，只要外接MP3或ipod就能發出聲音。 紙喇叭不僅可以對折、還能夠彎曲，延展性超高，未來打算結合紙張印刷技術大量生產。工研院專案經理劉昌和表示，「大面積時可以用在窗簾，像是一種薄片式喇叭，在沒有function的地方，讓它有聲音的function。」 這項新專利最快在明年就會上市，到時消費者只需要花點小錢，就能透過這薄薄一片，享受媲美傳統巨無霸音響的頂級聽覺饗宴。(新聞來源：東森新聞記者張君豪、蔡文綺) Paper Flexpeaker could change the way you perceive posters
by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 28th 2009 at 8:18AM Paper speakers go a long way back, but now finally seem close to making appearances in the real world. A few weeks ago it was researchers at the University of Warwick showing off their wispy wares, and now Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute is talking up its thin tweeters, called Flexpeaker. The initial goal is for 8.5-inch by 11-inch sheets that cost about $20, but the hope is to produce whole rolls of the stuff in the not too distant future, which will then be liberally applied to the exteriors of movie theaters, the interiors of automobiles, and the sides of the thinnest of thin-panel TVs. An effective range of 500Hz to 20KHz leaves an awful lot of lower frequencies lacking, but perhaps someone will invent a paper subwoofer one of these days. High-pitched video of an earlier prototype after the break.