40: WGE MAG
Muscle Up! W
hile Artificial Muscle might sound like something out of the latest Hollywood
science-fiction blockbuster, WGE:MAG discovers that it is a concept which is very much alive and kicking.
Dirk Shapeler is President and CEO of Bayer Material Science’s Artificial Muscle company and they hope that their ViviTouch technology can revolutionise the way we interact with games on our mobile phones.
When was the last time you thought about rumble in video games? Was it when it was first integrated for the Nintendo 64 and the original PlayStation or maybe never? It’s been easy to see the advances in graphics and audio over the years as we’ve moved to more detailed images on High Definition or even 3D televisions, rich surround sound and subwoofer effects with less compression thanks to better sound processors. However, during all this time, when your controller shakes or your phone buzzes, it’s been pretty much the same basic technology since the Nintendo 64.
ViviTouch, an actutator we’ve developed can reproduce any audio or vibration waveforms as precise haptic feedback. We refer to this as “HD feel.” Now, instead of a simple buzzing, we can make the device feel like an idling race car motor, a ball rolling, an
“Now, instead of a simple buzzing, we can make the device feel like an idling race car motor, a ball rolling, an explosion, a gun firing, a skateboard rolling down the street, or anything else you can think of.”
explosion, a gun firing, a skateboard rolling down the street, or anything else you can think of. You can see the first application of this technology in the mophie pulse, which is a gaming case for the iPod touch that creates HD rumble effects out of the audio signal.
Without getting too technical, Electro Active Polymer (or EAP) material is an extremely thin piece of film that will squish or stretch when a current is applied to it, fairly similar to how our muscles work (hence the term Artificial Muscle.) This material responds amazingly fast to these signals, so it effectively behaves like a speaker that can reproduce feels instead of sounds. A traditional rumble motor can rotate at a few different speeds, but basically still give you variations on the same “bzzzzzz” effect.
“ViviTouch built into a phone would enable a user to assign different sensations to different contacts and instantly know who’s calling even with their sound off.”
Not to mention, ViviTouch utilizes up to 70% less battery power than previously mentioned technology and the manufacturing process is both environmentally conscious and sustainable.
Once people get a chance to feel what “HD feel” offers in a device, they develop a preference for it. This offers a great opportunity for mobile handset makers like Samsung, HTC or Research in Motion a way to make their phones stand out from the rather crowded hardware market if they elect to use ViviTouch. While it’s great in games, the shaking of the device can also simulate a subwoofer, so you can retain more of that big movie feel when you’re on the go. We even see potential for “HD feel” to open up a new market for silent ringtones or feeltones. ViviTouch built into a phone would enable a user to assign different sensations to different contacts and instantly know who’s calling even with their sound off. Maybe you set your spouse’s feeltone to feel like a heart beating, but your mother in law to feel like a car crash!
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