USound confident of beating Bosch in MEMS microspeaker market
USound GmbH (Graz, Austria) claims it is on track to dominate the true wireless stereo (TWS) market with MEMS-based microspeakers despite competition from Bosch Sensortec GmbH.
Bosch Sensortec is in the process of acquiring MEMS microspeaker startup Arioso Systems GmbH (see Bosch buys MEMS micro speaker startup). A spin-off from Fraunhofer IPMS, startup Arioso Systems’ audio transducer generates sound through the movement of vertically oriented lamellas inside a silicon chip.
Unlike a conventional membrane, Arioso Systems technology uses the chip volume rather than surface. Therefore, it is possible to build a miniatured MEMS microspeaker to generate up to 120dB sound pressure level from 10 square millimeters of active area.
Planar
USound MEMS speakers became the must-have speaker technology for manufacturing MRI-compatible headphones and over-the-counter hearing aids thanks to the lack of ferromagnetics, no vibration, and sound pressure level per weight and size, the company claimed.
The company added that MEMS speakers will continue displace the established alternative – balanced armature and electrodynamic speakers – and by 2025 will have taken half the market within the TWS market.
The market for MEMS loudspeakers is set to increase from 2023, whereas balanced armature will significantly decrease from 2024 onwards. By 2025 it is estimated that MEMS speakers will be dominating 50 percent of the market share within True Wireless Stereo (TWS) systems.
First mover
Ferruccio Bottoni, CEO of USound, said the company has a first-mover advantage in the market over Arioso and Bosch.
“USound’s loudspeakers are already on the market. We have more than seven years of market research; therefore, our loudspeakers are not only a technological breakthrough but are tailored to meet market demands. We have worked daily with all key audio consumer electronics manufacturers which have tested our loudspeakers. We have listened to their requests, remarks, and feedback and we re-designed and re-qualified our products until we have fully reached the market requirements and demands,” Bottoni, told eeNews Europe, in an email exchange.
Speaking of Arioso’s technology Bottoni said: “According to their released data, Arioso’s MEMS loudspeakers have a complex manufacturing process. Even under the assumption that Bosch/Arioso will be successful, no major suppliers buy from a single source.”
USound has been collaborating with Chinese companies such as Tiancheng Network Technology Co., Ltd. on TWS blueprints and prototypes and Upstar on OTC hearing aids for faster technology adoption.
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