>>abirachad: scientists in the uk have developed a new type of speaker technology which delivers clear, crisp anddirectional sound. environmentalists will be pleased to hear these speakers have reduced power consumption and low impact production processes. for the rest of us well, they just look stylish. >>reporter: when it comes to technology, less is more. we want it smaller and more powerful; to look better and sound better. which is why scientists at warwick university in the uk have invented a revolutionary new thin and flexible speaker - which actually started out life as a sheet of tin foil and some baking paper. >>billson: this is essentially what we call an electro static speaker. and that means it works by converting electrical voltage to sound. a conventional loudspeaker, one of these, converts electrical current to sound.

now this as you can see is relatively small which means that sound goes off in all directions. because this is a relatively large area, and all the sound resonates at the same phase & frequency, this means it's a lot more directional than conventional speakers >>reporter: this material can't produce bass level frequencies at the moment, so it could only really replace your tweeters. it'll also need to be driven by a different kind of amp but on the plus side the high voltage/low current nature of the system means it will use a lot less power than traditional speakers. and with clear directional sound that isn't being boomed out from a central stack, there are implications for this technology in lots of markets - from rock concerts it might have a small footprint, but it's creators

have big hopes for it's potential in a global speaker market estimated to be worth around $4.2 billion by 2010.. >>couchman: we believe that the audio visual side - the sort of products we're talking about in the audio visual- probably has a sector of about a billion dollars, and we aim to get a good percentage of that with this technology. so we're seeing a great interest from clients and customers and some of them are coming up with some wacky ideas. adding audio to clothing for instance. wanting to stitch this material into clothing & backpacks into furniture using it as pictures on walls etc >>reporter: there is still plenty of work to be done to overcome the issues with frequency range, and maximise the potential of the speakers that's something in car entertainment systems experts alpine know all about. and with a global market

of some 50 million cars a year needing speakers there is huge potential forthe technology. >>keith price: the problem we have is packaging. it's where we can fit those speakers in the car. and that's alwaysa problem from the vehicle installation point of view. this flat speaker technology will enable us to put speakers where we have never been able to fit them before. we can put them in the head lining, we'll be able to put them on trim panels and make it much easier from a vehicle design point of view. >>reporter: an industry always on the cutting edge of new technology is advertising. you only have to look around ogilvy london's digital labs to realise the potential for these thin speakers in the marketing world. the eye click floor display is a good example. this heat sensitive projection reacts to the presenceof people walking through it. currently the sound blasts down from a central speaker overhead

>>yershon: i just think that those speakers on something like this, they'd be a wow factor . people would stop and listen, especially if there was a message involved. >>reporter: with so many potential applications the makers of these thin, flexible speakers are going to have their work cut out refining the technology to fit the demands of their eventual clients. but once production can start on a mass scale warwick audio believe they can bring the cost of manufacturing downto as little as $16 per square meter. that's a price point that the speaker market is probably going to like the sound of. >>abirachad: rowing is spreading throughout the waters of the world and clever marketing helps the sport get plenty of attention through primetime tv coverage. despite all this and having a very appealing fan demographic, the rowing world cup is still struggling to find a lead sponsor. >>reporter:

>>reporter: lucerne, one of switzerland's most picturesque towns, famous for its stunning lakeside setting. for rowers however it is not lake lucerne which is the big attraction but another neighbouring lake, therotsee. >>hunkler: the lake is very perfect because it has no influence of wind. the lake is in between two hills and it has the perfect size, it's a little more than 2000 metres, it has six lanes so it's perfect for rowers >>reporter: having hosted regattas for the last 80 years, the rotsee is now the annual venue for the final stageof the rowing world cup >>oswald: the world championship is always at the end of the season, usually at the end of august, beginning of september. the world cup is during the season and in a way is a kind of preparation for the world championships

>>reporter: while the teams and athletes benefit from the structured approach, the main purpose was to pull together previously disparate regattas to form a core commercial platform for the lifeblood of the sport, tv >>smith: it gave us the platform for a television contract and sponsorship. we were able to include the rowing world cup in the european broadcast union contract so we had standardised post production standards and we had a much broader distribution, whereas before the world cup you did not know if a regattawould be on television or not. >>reporter: however, even with comprehensive tv coverage via eurosport and 20 national broadcasters, the sport is currently struggling to find a title sponsor in these unnaturally becalmed times. >>oswald: rowing has been hit by the global recession and a number of sponsors with whom we were discussing and had given us good hope

that they would support the sport of rowing but after a while they decided not to do so, therefore it's a difficult time for us >>reporter: which is perhaps surprising given the positive environmental message, rowing is a clean water sport,and the very clearly defined and appealing demographic. >>cooper: the audience that we approach is one which is welleducated, wellinformed, earns good money and influential in the bigger picture of business life. so it's a sport which we can't say that we appeal to the mass market but we know who we approach and they are the people that we are now targeting >>reporter: on a positive note, however, the sport is managing to row into previously uncharted international waters, with 130 national federations worldwide, opposed to just 70 20 years ago. asia and latin

america are seen as key territories for expansion and represent important opportunities for enhanced tv coverage, an essential tool to lend more power to the oar >>smith: we're making a new partner for the distribution and expansion of distribution outside of europe and will be starting that at our world championships this year in august >>reporter: meanwhile they can count on strong support from their traditional partners, for whom the rowing world cup is an excellent marketing opportunity. >>perren: for us really important, a lot of people show it and come here to see it, spectators, but also tv coverage, the spinoff is really good for lucerne >>reporter: so it seems that with or without a lead sponsor, more and more countries are destined to dip their oars into the waters of the enigmatic rotsee. >>abirachad:

that's it for this week's world business. thanks for watching. we'll see you again at the same time next week.