New Technology from Bayer MaterialScience for Consumer Electronics: Mobile Games Now Give HD Haptic Feedback

An invention from Bayer MaterialScience adds a new sensory dimension to consumer electronics: “Artificial muscles” made of polymers open up a world of highly realistic feel in mobile games on tablet PCs and smartphones, and a totally new and alive audio experience with headphones. The innovative technology called ViviTouch will be presented for new applications at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from Feb. 25-28, 2013.

The market for mobile gaming is growing at a rapid pace. Until now, mobile devices have offered only a very limited range of uniform vibratory signals that do not give players differentiated tactile feedback. ViviTouch provides access to a virtually unlimited spectrum of precise and simultaneous tactile effects. Aligned with sound and visual, they take the game experience to a new dimension: A rolling pinball feels different to the hand than a running engine or the human heartbeat.

Moreover, users can play longer before having to plug in their devices to charge them: ViviTouch uses up to 70% less energy than conventional vibratory motors.

In the near future, headphones incorporating ViviTouch are also to be introduced to the market. They bring an entirely new dimension to the audio-video experience that is about to change how people listen to their music, games and movies.

“Once listeners experience fully alive audio, their old headphones will feel obsolete. ViviTouch provides a much more intense, alive audio experience, but without raising the actual volume to ear-damaging levels,” explained Dirk Schapeler, head of the ViviTouch team.

The effect is most noticeable at deep bass frequencies. The new technology does not influence the sound waves themselves, but rather functions through direct contact with the scalp, conducting sound through the bones of the skull.

“The effect is comparable to a major live concert, where fans can feel the bass tones over their whole body,” Schapeler said. “The only difference is that ViviTouch does not produce any sound pressure, and the live effect is mobile, you can enjoy it anywhere you go.”

The technology behind it involves thin polymer films that turn energy into motion: They stretch when exposed to an electric voltage and then contract again in an instant, like a muscle. Developed by Bayer MaterialScience, these electroactive polymers, as they are known, generate controlled motions within milliseconds, making it possible to simulate HD haptic effects.