USound Earns Acclaim from Frost & Sullivan for Delivering an Exceptional Audio Experience with its MicroSound MEMS Products

USound's highly innovative MEMS technology can scale down the form factor of audio systems without compromising the audio quality

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Frost & Sullivan

Sep 11, 2018, 08:03 ET

LONDON, Sept. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the European microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) audio speakers market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes USound GmbH with the 2018 European Technology Innovation Award. USound's highly sophisticated MicroSound MEMS platform is based on piezoelectric MEMS actuator technology, which has the ability to resolve audio systems' fidelity-related challenges and the inherent design constraints of electro-dynamic speakers. The vision behind USound's development was to provide a unique audio experience to users and reinvent the audio platform to suit the needs of emerging applications, such as wearables.

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MEMS is only an emerging technology in the audio industry, but with the rising use of speech recognition and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in audio systems, USound was emboldened to introduce its new-age piezo MEMS technology-powered micro-speakers. This technology works on the principle of the piezoelectric effect, wherein layers made from piezoelectric ceramic materials, such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), expand and contract when subjected to an electric field.

"Unlike traditional electro-dynamic speakers that consist of a coil moving within a magnetic field, USound's MEMS speaker consists of PZT actuators surrounded by a membrane and plate," said Sushrutha Sadashiva, Research Analyst. "Using multiple cantilevers, a translation action is created that pushes the air to generate sound. This design ensures faster actuation, with a reaction time of a few microseconds, thus resulting in clear sound. Furthermore, the speakers are lightweight, as thin as one millimeter, and consume less power."

Another significant advantage of MEMS speakers is their wide bandwidth range of 10 Hz to 80 kHz, which facilitates their use in high definition (HD) audio and ultrasound applications. USound's speakers also offer microphone functionality to aid in noise cancellation. As these speakers can be embedded with proximity sensors, they can integrate multiple functions to emerge a truly next-generation audio system.

Through extensive R&D, USound has been able to customize its technology to suit the technical and ergonomic requirements of various devices such as hearing aids, earphones, and wearables. In addition, customers can adjust the power, volume, form factor, audio filters, and electronic hardware for their audio systems.

After a thorough development and testing phase, the technology has now been introduced to the market and USound's extensive and well-established supply chain allows the high-quantity production of MEMS audio products. USound has already received and started processing high-volume orders from leading consumer OEMs.

"USound's thought leadership aims to establish MEMS micro-speakers as a ubiquitous technology," noted Sushrutha Sadashiva. "Leveraging its audio expertise and portfolio of 75 patents, USound is building the best possible audio systems in the MEMS audio speakers industry, and accelerating their adoption in smart devices worldwide."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed a product with innovative features and functionality that is gaining rapid acceptance in the market. The award recognizes the quality of the solution and the customer value enhancements it enables.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About USound GmbH
USound GmbH (Graz, Austria), formed in 2014, is a fast-growing audio company, developing and producing the most-advanced audio solutions for personal applications based on MEMS technology. As a fabless company, process R&D and manufacturing operations are outsourced to world class industrial partners. Find us online: www.usound.com – discuss with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Isabel Rößler
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About Frost & Sullivan
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Estefany Ariza
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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan