Magna International may have failed to acquire the Saturn brand from General Motors, but the Canadian parts firm hasn’t been sitting around sulking. Magna has just launched a new technology that can transform a back window into a vehicle’s subwoofer.
The new technology – dubbed AcoustiVision – uses a vehicle’s standard rear glass to create an in-car subwoofer. The Magna system uses two exciters at the base of the window, which are fed via a trunk-mount amplifier that boosts the stereo signal from 12 volts to 200. Once the system is connected, the rear glass acts as the membrane of the speaker.
“It is a whole new way to generate sound in a car,” said Magna product director Greg Rizzo. “There are still tweeters up front but the glass replaces a big subwoofer in the trunk.”
Although futuristic sounding, the technology could have a real place in the automotive world. AcoustiVision can cut vehicle weight since it eliminates the need for a bulky subwoofer and the system consumes less energy than a conventional speaker. I’s clever packaging can also be fit to virtually any vehicle.
Magna has yet to land a big contract for the technology, but the company says AcoustiVision could be ready for production in 2015.
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