MEMS Introduces Waterproof Microphones

Ultimately, he said, each and every smartphone would have eight or more of similar little microphones on board, they had hardly utilize any power most of the time, and they would be the most reliable microphones we have ever witnessed.

The big claims are that so I have been focussing on Vesper since. Vesper does not possess internal chips in any commercial mobile phones yet. But they come to consideration every time a kid of mine manages to soak a cell phone and we are both biting our nails expecting he possibly mythical rice trick works, as I know from experience it is the microphone that is the very first thing to go when the phone comes in contact with water. And I do I keep hearing more and lot more about piezoelectric microphone technology.

Vesper instigated in late 2014, coming out of a University of Michigan project intended at utilizing piezoelectric MEMS to generate better microphones for uses as diverse as hearing aids and aerospace. Traditional MEMS microphones have a black plate with a gap of air separating it from the diaphragm, anything that moves into the gap, even a speck of dirt or drop of water can block that motion, killing the microphone. With piezoelectric MEMS microphones, the membrane releases electricity instantly from the movement of sound waves, as there is no black plate. This is what offers them resistance to water and dust.

Figure: MEMS Waterproof Microphones can be used underwater to hear the sound of Whales

This is good news for keen people who drop their mobile gadgets in the toilet, or run hefty rainstorms and go to dusty. Vesper has been offered with numerous awards for this technology, most currently the Innovator of the Year Award in the yearly Annual Creativity in Electronics competition organized in San Jose in December. That same week the organization scored US $15 million in venture funding, comprising an investment from the Alexa Fund of Amazon, to aid bring its design to market.

But just because Vesper still has lots of things to do to make its microphone work, it does not imply that its engineers have not had time to enjoy the technology themselves. During the pitches to phone manufacturers, Crowley usually raves that the microphones will even work underwater. One of the representatives of the manufacturer, Crowley confirms it can be confirmed him why anybody would intend to record the sound underwater.

Crowley flashed the device in some of the movies and its plotline encompassing an attempt to contact whales. That made him suggest a whale watch expedition for the next entity outing, and to ask Vesper engineer Tung Shen Chew to place to microphone onto some sort of rig that would make them get into the water. “We got a numerous strange ideas from the crew and other passengers, but when we explained what we are doing, they thought it is really cool,” says Crowley