Disney can turn any toy into a speaker

Disney can turn any toy into a speaker

The company's R & D department has developed a technology that allows printing objects capable of emitting sounds, whatever they may be.

   A group of researchers from the Disney Research Labs, the high-tech division of the multinational, has found a way to print objects that are, in addition, a speaker capable of playing music or complex sounds. This technology, they hope, will allow them to create all kinds of toys with which they can interact through the ear.

   The technique developed by these scientists allows them to convert almost any object into an electrostatic speaker. They do not incorporate a sound emitter inside the structure, but it is capable of playing music. In any direction, and from everywhere. Even if the pileup is held in your hands. All thanks to a 3D printer, a paint with high electrical conductivity and electricity.

These objects, half toy half speaker, are created in two phases. On the one hand, the main structure is printed and on the other, a diaphragm, a thin, flexible nickel film. Both are coated with a paint that improves their conductivity. When the two pieces are joined, they become an electrode that, in the presence of a high voltage and low intensity electric current, is capable of emitting sounds like any speaker.

High voltage (and low intensity)

"The auditory response is one of the most important of any interface," say researchers at the Disney Research Lab. Although their technology is nothing more than a prototype, they believe that it can help in various areas of their company. In addition to creating toys of any aspect or size with the ability to make sounds or play music, have also managed to launch a system for detection of presence and distance through ultrasound.

The main challenge faced by researchers so that their loudspeaker objects can be transformed into toys or objects from their theme parks is that of safety. To make them work, it is necessary, they explain, to use enormous potential differences that can reach 1000 volts. And although they explain that it is easy to create them in such a way that the current never reaches the user and they themselves touch them without problems, they also have to ensure the source of energy.