Methods and systems for detecting at least the position of an object in space

A sound and detection system comprising:

• at least a digital sound reconstruction speaker apparatus, comprising a plurality of pressure-pulse producing elements arranged in an array, wherein each pressure-pulse producing element comprises at least a moving element, an upper electrode and a bottom electrode,
• at least a controlling unit configured to control a time clock and voltages applied to said moving element and said upper and bottom electrodes,
• wherein said moving element is constrained to move along at least an axis and is able to be latched in at least one of its extreme position along the axis due to electrostatic attraction to at least one of said upper and bottom electrodes, said electrostatic attraction originating from at least a difference of said voltages applied to said moving element and at least one of said upper and bottom electrodes,
• wherein said controlling unit is configured to:
• control the actuation of the plurality of pressure-pulse producing elements, thereby allowing the array of pressure-pulse producing elements to produce:
• a plurality of short time pressure peaks,
• wherein each short time pressure peak is synchronized by said time clock and has an amplitude depending on a number of the pressure-pulse producing elements actuated in unison,
• wherein said plurality of said short time pressure peaks has a certain periodicity which is determined by said time clock and which is at least commeasurable with said short time and at most corresponding to an ultrasonic frequency,
• thereby allowing the array of pressure-pulse producing elements to produce said plurality of short time pressure peaks which are characterized by said ultrasonic frequency and by an amplitude envelope over time such that an oscillation of the amplitude envelope corresponding to audible sound,
• thereby resulting in that said plurality of short time pressure peaks are manifested as an acoustic wave having:
• an ultrasonic component characterized by said ultrasonic frequency, and
• an audible sound component characterized by said amplitude envelope oscillation;
• and
• control the actuation of the plurality of pressure-pulse producing elements so as to control at least a spatial distribution of the pressure peaks over time to form a beam of said acoustic waves focused in a certain region in space, thereby allowing a common control of directivity of said beam composed of said ultrasonic component and said audible sound component, both produced by the plurality of pressure peaks,
• at least a sensor configured to detect at least a portion of said ultrasonic component reflected from at least one object located in said certain region in space, thereby allowing determination of data representative of at least a presence of said at least one object located in said certain region in space.