Piezo haptics will create their own market by introducing novel haptic apps: Boreas
SOURCE: Pradeep’s Techpoints Blog
Boréas Technologies showcased the latest addition to their product line-up at the Sensors Converge 2022, in California, USA — the BOS0614 piezo driver.
The BOS0614, allows OEMs to add gaming trigger buttons that improve the gamer’s performance. With touch sampling rate support up to 10 kHz, the gamer intent is transmitted to the game in less than 100 us – an improvement of more than 20X in input latency. It also delivers low-latency customizable haptic feedback to each button to create the most immersive mobile gaming experience.
Opportunities in ultra-low-power HD piezo haptic semiconductors
Elaborating on the current state, challenges and opportunities in ultra-low-power high definition (HD) piezo-haptic semiconductors, Simon Chaput, CEO of Boréas, said that the market expectations for piezo haptics are excellent. Will piezo disrupt the ERM and LRA markets? It depends on the application. It will replace LRA in PC trackpads and haptic stylus. However, piezo haptics will create their own market by introducing novel haptic apps, such as localized haptics in mobile phones, or large display haptics in car interiors.
One important trend in the mobile market is mobile gaming. Mobile gaming generated USD $85 billion in revenue in 2020 accounting for about 50 percent of the total gaming revenue.
Smartphone OEMs, especially in Asia, are looking to improve the gaming experience on mobile devices to win market shares. Piezo haptics enables them to create a gaming experience closer to a console while maintaining the clean industrial design of a phone.
The BOSO614 enters the market at an opportune time as mobile gaming is expected to hit USD $64 billion by 2026. Meanwhile, the global E-sports market is expected to reach USD$3.5 billion by 2027, rising at a market growth of 21.3 percent CAGR. With this growth comes many key players in the market, including semiconductor giant Qualcomm, that are developing technologies that fuel immersive mobile gaming experiences.
Four-channel piezo haptic driver
He also elaborated on the BOS0614 four-channel piezo haptic driver with integrated sensing.
The BOS0614 is a four-channel piezo haptic driver based on Boréas’ patented CapDrive technology. This product was designed specifically for mobile gaming, and includes all the features necessary for easy integration into a phone and to provide an immersive gaming experience to the user.
The BOS0614 allows OEMs to add gaming trigger buttons that improve the gamer performance. With touch sampling rate support up to 10 kHz, the gamer intent is transmitted to the game in less than 100 us – an improvement of more than 20X in input latency.
Furthermore, the BOS0614 delivers low-latency customizable haptic feedback to each button to create the most immersive mobile gaming experience. The BOS0614 enables the kind of experience only the PlayStation 5 console controller was able to create before, but on a smartphone.
Next, what are the gaming trigger buttons being added that improve the gamer performance?
He said that on mobile phones optimized for gaming, the gaming trigger buttons will typically be added on the top edge of the phone to mimic the L1, L2, R1, R2 buttons that are typically found on gaming controllers. Currently, the technologies used for these buttons have low performance. They typically have high latency and don’t offer localized haptic to tell the user when the command was registered.
