Introducing the not-so-loudspeaker

Public dancing is a consequence of China's rapidly aging society, observers say. Although the dancers have emphasized the positive aspects of the pastime, the amplified music they use has led to tensions with neighbors who say they are constantly being subjected to unwanted noise pollution and have taken steps to eradicate it.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A prototype high-tech amplifier designed by a group of college students may spell an end to quarrels and fights between elderly dancing enthusiasts and their annoyed neighbors.

Standing next to a tripod with a projector at the apex, Zhu Liya, a student at the School of Media and Design at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, described how her team was inspired to build the machine when they attended a design workshop at the Sony Explora Science Museum in Beijing at the end of July.

"Dancing is good for both the mental and bodily health of retired women," the 20-year-old says, adding that she has conducted a survey of the dancers that confirmed the benefits.

"We also understand how a noisy loudspeaker may affect many other people who don't get up as early as these elderly women," Zhu says.

"Dancing in the square" has become a catchphrase for the tensions that have arisen between the women, who play music through loudspeakers and dance in public places, and their neighbors who are disturbed by the noise.

Reported cases include elderly dancers being sued, physically attacked and, in one extreme case, even had human feces thrown at them by angry neighbors, but the abuse obviously hasn't dampened their passion for the activity.

"If the conflict is all about the noise, technology and design can resolve it," Zhu says.

Under the guidance and support of industrial designers from Sony China, Zhu and her teammates designed a speaker that could eradicate the problem once and all.

The speaker, called the "Dazzling Dancing Mate", uses a highly directional audiobeam speaker that can project sound in a specific direction and control the range of transmission.

"That means those within the speaker's transmission range, for example the dancers, will hear the music, but those outside the range, such as neighbors, won't," Zhu says.

The device is equipped with three loudspeakers that can broadcast audio within a specified range, coupled with the top projector that has a camera that rotates a full 360 degrees to capture the dancers' steps and automatically project a range of lighting effects.

"There is applied technology in the field already, so we believe our design will become a real product in the near future," Zhu says.

Sony's has held its student design workshop in China for eight years - appropriately, this year the theme is "wellness".

In collaboration with universities, the program aims to provide a platform to combine advanced media and Internet technology with creative, curious young oncampus talent.

Four designs by 16 students were exhibited, including the "Dazzling Dancing Mate", a musical toothbrush designed for children who dislike brushing their teeth, and an intelligent running mate for the rising number of joggers in China.

"We encourage students to look into the details of daily life around them and to care about people who have troubles," said Zhong Hongsheng, a renowned designer from Sony China's Innovation Center. "The students' designs can become functional products within five years."