CES Cars of the future may feature speakerless audio systems

As automakers enter the electric vehicle era and seek more creative solutions to reduce vehicle weight in the name of efficiency, no feature will be left out. Weight is the enemy.

The weight of the audio system has proven to be significant. Between speakers, amplifiers, subwoofers, and wiring, simply no sound system would reduce a lot of weight from the car, but then how would people listen to The Beatles?

At the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, Continental and Sennheiser unveiled a speakerless sound system called Ac2ated Sound. As incredible as it sounds, it is simply an audio system without speakers.

It's not black magic or unicorns. It is science. A speakerless sound system produces sound by "stimulating surfaces in the car." Simply put, it produces sound by vibrating surfaces at a specific frequency.

The technology was inspired by the way the wooden body of a classical stringed instrument acts as a resonance chamber. Actuators on the surfaces of the vehicle create the frequencies at which the surfaces vibrate. Depending on the design of the surface, the frequency at which it vibrates varies. For example, A-pillar trim, roof liners, and door panels can produce different sounds due to their different shapes. [According to Continental, by eliminating the baggage of speakers and associated sound systems, speakerless systems reduce the weight and space of sound systems used in cars today by up to 90%.

According to Sennheiser, the system provides an immersive experience as if the occupants are in a concert hall. By removing the traditional speakers, sound does not emanate from a few selected locations in the car. Instead, sound comes from around the occupants using surfaces in the car.

If this technology becomes practical, it will allow vehicle designers more freedom in vehicle interiors, as there is no longer a need to integrate speakers, subwoofers, amplifiers, and tweeters into a single unit.

Continental and Sennheiser did not say whether Ac2ated Sound will see the light of day in production vehicles or whether it is ready for mass production, but it will be on display at CES through Friday.

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