Wonder what in-car audio would sound like without speakers? Technology company Continental has developed an innovative concept that does away with conventional speakers entirely and uses select surfaces in the vehicle interior to produce sound.
First showcased at the company’s TechDay event in 2017, the Ac2ated sound technology now achieves 3D sound reproduction together with Sennheiser’s AMBEO Mobility.
The technology not only improves user experience, but helps lightweight interiors, and creates space for a seamless design. Continental expects this technology to become a key differentiator for OEMs as the traditional differentiators are losing relevance.
At the same time, the Ac2ated sound technology is expected to enhance the customer experience inside the vehicle, as the display and instrumental cluster captures users’ sight and touch experience to make usability better. With Ac2ated speakerless car audio, the component maker is targeting to capture the third sense hearing with specialised 3D and immersive sound.
Continental actuators also help to innovate the design of the vehicle.
Jens Friedrich, Leading Expert Ac2ated Sound, Continental Engineering Service, Continental said, “Continental has a long history of improving acoustics and NVH. We know about the listening experience in the car as we understand the physics of the car. We have worked with Mercedes S-Class to bring the best acoustic experience.”
With the past experience in creating the best NVH levels, Continental has worked on how it uses them to create speakerless sound with help of actuators, he added.
The company claims that the Ac2ated speakerless car audio technology is a disruptive innovation for sound systems as it reduces significant weight and volumes, providing a 3D personal sound experience. Further, it gives freedom to car designers to build interiors without speaker grilles.
What’s the technology all about?
The functional principle of Ac2ated sound is closer to classical string instruments like violin than a normal loudspeaker. It is done in three major steps – excitation, transfer and radiation.
In the first step, excitation is done through a transducer and software that convert electrical signals into motion. This motion is transferred in the second step with the help of biding technology into a body that is a car panel, which radiates the sound in the environment.
As mentioned earlier, the new sound technology offers major advantages to OEMs in several ways – primarily, weight and space savings.
Frédéric Daudé, Product Manager Ac2ated Sound, HMI BU, Continental explains that to create an immersive sound in a Cadillac, for example, 36 speakers are used. Then, for cars like Volvo XC40, the size of the speakers is reduced. Moreover with new technologies like EV skateboards – have limited space for bulk woofers, as all the space on the floor is used for batteries.
Also, one of the new design trends is to have a lean and clean dashboard with fewer buttons. Recently, Mercedes S Class introduced shakers to amplify sound and base effect.
Continental has designed its own actuators – bass actuators with a frequency range of 20-700 Hz and mid-high actuators with a frequency range of 150 Hz to less than 20 KHz. The base actuators replace the subwoofer and mid-high actuators replace tweeters and speakers. These two components cover the complete frequency range, which humans can listen to.
Continental has partnered with Sennheiser to make a speakerless audio system for the vehicle interior.
The two partners are integrating Sennheiser’s patented AMBEO 3D audio technology with Continental’s Ac2ated Sound system.
According to the company, the Ac2ated technology is ready to disrupt a few markets.