A way to keep objects levitated by sound from falling due to interference

Bob Yirka is a research scientist at Phys.org.

When other objects interfere with the levitation path, University College London has developed a way to keep objects airborne. They describe their self-correcting levitation system in their paper.

It has been shown that it is possible to levitate objects. If an object tries to interfere with the sound waves, it will cause the object to fall. New features were developed to address the problem.

The researchers increased the number of speakers they used to protect the sound waves. Software was added to control each speaker. The speakers and objects were placed in a grid. The team was able to get the system to work together despite disruptions by programming the speakers in specific ways. The sound waves that were blocked were replaced by other sound waves.

The system was tested using a 3D-printed white rabbit. There were objects surrounding the rabbit. The researchers put beads around a rabbit that formed into a butterfly. A piece of clear fabric was used as a screen for projection of the rabbit that they had printed. They showed that their system would work even if the object was a glass of liquid.

The researchers think their system could be used for demonstrations. Expansion of their system will allow it to handle multiple objects at the same time.

More information: Ryuji Hirayama et al, High-speed acoustic holography with arbitrary scattering objects, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn7614 Journal information: Science Advances

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