Boréas Technologies' New Chip-Scale Haptic IC Drives HD Touch in Smallest Electronics

SEATTLE, Dec. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boréas Technologies, developer of ultra-low-power haptic technologies, today introduced the BOS1901CW, a Wafer Level Chip Scale (WLCSP) version of its flagship low-power piezoelectric driver integrated circuit (IC) for high-definition (HD) haptic feedback in mobile and wearable consumer products, including buttonless smartphones, smartwatches, game controllers and other battery-powered devices.

Featuring WLCSP packaging, the BOS1901CW is just 2.1x2.2x0.6 mm and consumes just one-tenth the power of its nearest piezoelectric (piezo) competitor, making it small and low-power enough for the most resource-constrained devices.

Tactai, a pioneer in recreating lifelike touch sensations through its embedded haptics platforms, used the BOS1901CW to develop a digital active-stylus reference design.

“From digital pens that simulate the feel of writing on paper to touch-enabled buttons and keyboards, users want natural tactile feedback when they’re interacting with their personal electronic products,” said Jonathan Fiene, chief technology officer, Tactai. “With its small size, straightforward digital interface, and amazing power profile, Boréas’ BOS1901CW allows Tactai to deploy our unique real-time dynamic rendering system into a wide range of new and exciting next-generation piezoelectric-driven mobile and handheld haptic devices.”

With the new BOS1901CW and its previously announced BOS1901CQ, which is available in a 4x4x0.8 mm Quad-Flat No Lead (QFN) package, Boréas is targeting a global haptics component market that will be worth $4.8 billion by 2030, according to James Hayward, principal analyst at IDTechEx.

“Boréas Technologies is competing in some promising emerging technology areas within haptics,” said Hayward. “Enabling haptic feedback through ‘buttons’ and other touch interfaces in space- and power-constrained devices, Boréas can potentially provide a key part of the solution, particularly where it relates to any use of piezoelectric actuators.”

About the BOS1901CW
Like Boréas’ BOS1901CQ, the BOS1901CW is a high-voltage low-power piezo driver IC that is based on Boréas’ patented CapDrive™ technology, a proprietary scalable piezo driver architecture that provides the foundation for Boréas’ haptic chips. CapDrive delivers the advantages of piezoelectric material to the designer: greater energy efficiency, low heat dissipation and rapid response times, making CapDrive chips ideal for resource-constrained devices in which size, power and thermal management are essential.

The BOS1901CW features:

• Power savings — provides 10X power savings over other piezo solutions and delivers 4X to 20X power savings over other incumbent technologies (LRA, ERM). See Boréas’ Haptic Technologies Showdown
• Tiny hardware footprint of 2.1x2.2x0.6 mm — making it ideal for space-constrained wearables and mobile devices
• Low latency response — delivers start up time < 300 µs, providing faster response times for superior real-time haptic performance
• Low bill of material (BOM) cost — provides a solution that is cost-compatible with most applications
• Off-the-shelf compatibility — supports a wide range of piezoelectric haptic actuators, speeding design-to-manufacture of HD haptic feedback solutions
• Amplifies high-resolution haptic effects — supports third-party haptic-effect libraries, allowing designers to customize user experiences
• Wide supply voltage range: 3 to 5.5V — supports integration in most devices without any extra power-supply hardware, reducing BOM

See Boréas at Smart Haptics
Boréas will demonstrate the BOS1901CW in its booth at Smart Haptics 2019, which takes place Dec. 4-5, 2019 at the Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle. To schedule a meeting, email: [email protected] or visit https://www.smart-haptics.com/sponsors-or-exhibitors/sponsors/boreas-technologies

Availability
To speed design to production with the BOS1901CW, Boréas offers a plug-and-play development kit: the BOS1901-KIT for interactive piezoelectric haptic feedback. For more information, email: [email protected]

About Boréas Technologies
Boréas Technologies Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company commercializing product-differentiating piezo driver ICs for piezo actuators used in consumer and industrial markets. With origins in research conducted at Harvard University, Boréas was founded in 2016 in Bromont, Québec. Its proprietary CapDrive technology platform — on which the company’s driver ICs are based — is ideal for resource-constrained devices such as smartphones, game controllers, wearables and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Stay in touch with Boréas on LinkedIn, YouTube or visit us online: https://www.boreas.ca

The Boréas logo is a registered trademark, and CapDrive is a trademark of Boréas Technologies Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Press Contacts
Nicolas Duchesne-Laforest, Boréas Technologies
Email: [email protected]

Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications
Email: [email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cf6fc1ab-df3d-4fb9-8bac-469ae1db39fb

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