Scientists over at UK's Warwick University have developed what seems to be the thinnest speaker ever. Strangely resembling tin foil, which coupled with baking paper was used to "build" the first prototypes, this design promises to be quite popular if it hits the market.

The speakers are called FFL, which stands for Flat Flexible Loudspeaker, and are made of set of “flexible laminates made up of different conducting and insulating polymers”. Unlike the traditional speakers, when the FFLs are stimulated with electric current, they move air with the entire available surface, and not from a certain point which is the case with current technologies. This would in turn enable more evenly distributed sound without the need to crank up more.

The opportunities are endless – from talking adverts (as if we’re not sick of the non-talking ones), speakers concealed in ceiling tiles or painted and hung like pictures, to crisper and easier to hear public address systems in terminals and shopping centers, which we’d have nothing against as the aforementioned systems are heard as nothing but non-discernable low frequency rumble most of the time. Due to its directional characteristics, the automotive industry is interested as well, as careful placement would result in sound heard in the back only.

FFLs are also claimed to have longer lifetime expectancy and the sound quality wouldn’t deteriorate like it does with traditional systems. Warwick Audio Technology, which is a spin off firm created in order to launch these products on the market, hopes that it could deliver this product later this year.

More here.