Vehicle display transforms speakers! Continental 'Activated Sound' Technology

Apr 02, 2025
















Photo courtesy : carguy(www.carguy.kr)









For the first time in the industry, Continental has unveiled an "Acquired Sound" display that integrates speaker functions into vehicle display units. The display applies an innovative technology that utilizes the surface itself as a soundbox, allowing voice feedback, guidance, and other audio content to be output directly on the screen without a separate speaker. The actuator mounted on the rear of the display works in a way that induces audible vibrations on the glass surface, providing a new level of user experience.

Humans have the ability to intuitively recognize the direction in which sound is heard in a three-dimensional space, so they naturally turn their heads toward the sound. This characteristic serves as an important advantage in vehicle technology. This is because when audio content including voice feedback or guidance is output, the driver's gaze may intuitively grasp information immediately toward the display.

Also, the display surface is suitable for serving as a soundbox. Thanks to its unique structure and composition, it optimizes various factors such as internal attenuation, stiffness of the material, and weight of the surface on which vibration will be induced to provide excellent acoustic properties. Continental's "activated sound" technology has various advantages. It can be integrated into the display unit in a small size of just a few centimeters, taking up little space, and since the display replaces the role of the existing speaker soundboard, it can reduce the quantity and volume compared to the existing speaker, reducing time and cost in the vehicle assembly process.













The strength of this technology is that it can be mounted on almost all flat parts inside the vehicle as well as the display. If additional actuators are installed in door trim, headrest, A pillar or roof lining, an audio system that vibrates the surface and outputs sound without a separate speaker may be built. In addition, it occupies up to 90% less space than conventional speakers and can reduce its weight by up to 40kg, providing a great advantage in terms of weight reduction.

"By incorporating actuators into the display, we have succeeded in implementing excellent sound quality in the vehicle by using the entire display surface as a sound chamber," said Pavel Prouza, a member of the management board of Continental Automotive Group and general manager of UX's business division. "This can efficiently utilize the interior space of the vehicle and reduce its weight compared to conventional speakers," he said, "For customer convenience, we utilized Continental's system integration expertise to combine visual and auditory outputs into a single package without compromising quality."











This article was translated by Naver AI translator.