Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. has, as of August 2020, shipped more than 200 million units of its HAPTIC™ Reactor Hybrid Tough Type, a tactile feedback device using vibrations to realistically recreate diverse sensations.
Mobile games account for a growing share of the gaming market because they are so easy to enjoy, though stationary consoles are also performing well. Higher in-game resolutions emphasize the immersive experience more than ever before, creating demand for diverse vibrational expression in the tactile feedback received via controllers. Meanwhile, augmented and virtual reality applications are on the rise even outside the worlds of gaming and video entertainment, for example in facility maintenance and training within the manufacturing industry, public works, and medical settings. There are also needs for control devices that recreate more realistic feel through tactile feedback.
(fig. Game Controller)
Alps Alpine’s HAPTIC™ Reactor Hybrid Tough Type is an electromagnetic vibration actuator that generates vibration internally as electricity passes through an originally structured coil. It produces varying types of feel depending on the vibration pattern. Whereas linear resonant actuators (LRA) and eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors only perform simple vibrations along a single axis, the Hybrid Tough Type has vibrational freedom along two axes, enabling realistic recreation of feel even with complex waveforms (Fig. 1). And because there are two resonance points – 320Hz and 160Hz – the frequency range is two to three times broader than for LRAs, allowing for diverse tactile expression (Fig. 2). Vibration response speed is under 1ms, much faster than ERM motors, which typically have a response speed of least 10ms. This enables clear, sharp feedback with no delay. Not only that, a compact size of 10 × 22.6 × 9mm and voltage settings requiring no booster circuit ensure superior mounting capability, contributing to greater design freedom of the end product.
(fig. Alps Alpine’s HAPTIC™ Reactor Hybrid Tough Type)
With characteristics matching the needs of the gaming and virtual reality sectors, the product has been used by a large number of customers since its launch in 2014. Cumulative shipments surpassed 200 million units in August 2020. Alps Alpine will continue to pay attention to the finer details of feel creation, applying expertise built up over the years in the human-machine interface (HMI) technology domain, and further efforts to improve functionality, expand sales channels and expand product varieties to deliver optimal vibrational sensations corresponding to the requests of customers and different markets and uses.
