Fabless semiconductor startup Boréas Technologies has introduced what it claims is the first solid-state haptic buttons for smartphones.
The buttons replace the traditional user interfaces on the sides of smartphone with localized haptic buttons that can mimic the feel of a mechanical button but also add more touch options.
Called CapDrive haptic buttons, the solid-state buttons provide button-click sensations and sliders that sense movement. The new buttons replicate the feel of existing mechanical buttons for traditional tasks but offer more options when doing more sophisticated applications. For example, when taking photos, a user would get the sensation of focusing a lens and full button-depress feeling when taking a shot.
The piezo haptics can be programmed to provide subtle and localized effects on the buttons. A button would be used with one hand using a haptic slider-button that feels like a trackwheel mouse and even mimics the tick-tick sensation on the fingertip as the pages scroll by.
Other features include:
- Multichannel low power piezo haptic driver
- Waterproof design
- Dust and oil immune
- Lengthwise sliders detect swipes, clicks and taps
- Under 10 μA in sleep mode
