A paper [6] describing the results of the first prototype, as well as a live demonstration, were presented at the 105th Convention of the Audio Engineering Society in September, 1998, and received a standing ovation. While the parametric array itself is not patentable, MIT has applied for patents on key aspects of the technology which make it a practical device. This directivity plot of a prototype clearly illustrates the extreme narrowness of the beam. (Published in [6]). During the summer of 1998, we compared distortion of prior devices with our prototype. Note that distortion has been reduced nearly to that of a traditional loudspeaker. (Published in [6]). Since then, development has been remarkably productive, with engineering and mathematical advances resulting in more sound output, better sound quality, and reliable performance. "Everything you do with light, you can now do with sound."TM References: [1] Westervelt, P. J., J. Acoust. Soc. America, v35 535-537 (1963) [2] Bennett, M. B., and Blackstock, D. T., J. Acoust. Soc. America, v57, 562-568 (1975) [3] Yoneyama, M., et al., J. Acoust. Soc. America, v73, 1532-1536 (1983) [4] Blackstock, D. T., J. Acoust. Soc. America, v102 3106(A) (1997) link [5] Berktay, H. O., J. Sound Vib., v2, 435-461 (1965) [6] Pompei, F. J., J. Audio Eng. Soc., v47, 726-731 (1999) (originally in Proc. 105th AES Conv., Preprint 4853 (1998) ) About the Inventor: Beginning his career in acoustics at 16 while in high school, starting as the first high school co-op and becoming the youngest engineer at Bose Corporation, Frank Joseph Pompei continued working part-time and summers for Bose while earning a degree in Electrical Engineering with an Electronic Arts Minor from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Recognizing the importance and underutilization of spatialized sound, he decided to pursue research in psychoacoustics and application of auditory localization at Northwestern University, earning a Master's degree. Acutely aware of the limitations of traditional loudspeakers, he had the idea of using ultrasound as an acoustic projector, and is now developing such a device at the MIT Media Lab, continuing his education in pursuit of a Ph.D. -98-