Robust Textile-Based Electromagnetic Audio Interfaces

Textiles with inherently porous architectures are commonly employed for acoustic absorption. Although recent advances in textile-based audio interfaces have enabled sound emission, they lack robustness under unstructured conditions. Therefore, this study introduces a strategy that integrates textile structures with a durable actuation mechanism to overcome these limitations. Through optimized theoretical modeling, this study enhances the vibration amplitudes, effectively compensating for the intrinsic acoustic damping losses of textiles, achieving a relatively high and flat sound pressure level of 71.7 ± 3.3 dB. Notably, the audio interface maintains stable performance under various mechanical deformations, including stretching, compression, bending, and twisting. Furthermore, this audio interface preserves the essential characteristics of textiles, such as washability and breathability, and remains fully functional even in extremely humid conditions, such as heavy perspiration. The versatility of this approach is demonstrated through three practical applications: sound-beanie, talking-cloth, and sound-sofa. In each case, this audio interface delivers high-quality acoustic performance and robustness to unstructured conditions. The proposed strategy is anticipated to enhance the design of wearable audio interfaces for real-world applications.