Virtual touch gets smaller, cheaper and automotive ready
Posted; November 2, 2022
Ultraleap, the world leader in human technologies – hand tracking and mid-air haptics, today announced the completion of a new ultrasound transducer to power their mid-air haptics technology.
Transducers project the ultrasound to create a haptic effect. They are an essential component, and are the biggest and most expensive in the system. Ultraleap has been on a mission for seven years to design and produce a transducer to bring mid-air haptics to volume applications.
Our new ultrasound speaker is smaller, cheaper, and easier to build which means it can be manufactured at scale more efficiently. It doesn’t compromise on performance for strength or quality of the haptics and can be assembled into products by machines, not people. The combination of its benefits will open the door to truly scalable production of mid-air haptics for the first time.
The new transducer will also be fully qualified for automotive integration so it can be used with confidence by automotive OEMs in their next generation of vehicles.
Brian Williams, CEO of Ultraleap Manufacturing, said: “Our transducer development pushed the boundaries of what’s possible and opens up huge possibilities for our customers. It’s been a long time coming but it’s great to see the initial production of these elements. We look forward to working with our customers and partners to integrate them into the next generation of cars and products.”
Alongside the transducer announcement, Ultraleap is also sharing additional updates for its automotive customers including:
- A modular and flexible development platform – to evaluate and optimise specific use cases, in any layout and position within a vehicle.
- Embedded sensations – to reduced compute requirements resulting in significantly increased performance across strength and consistency.
- Tooling – to quickly develop and optimise haptic sensations for specific interactions, without requiring coding experience.
These solutions are available on request.
Jonny Codling, VP of Automotive at Ultraleap added: “Our recent technological developments will enable the automotive industry to fully embrace the potential of mid-air haptics. It’s come at the right time too. The rise of electric cars is levelling the playing field for vehicle performance. Manufacturers can no longer rely on differentiation through outright power and are looking for alternative ways to separate themselves from the pack. Mid-air haptics is the missing piece of the puzzle in automotive HMI and OEMs can now fully embrace this technology to stand out from the competition.”
As a result of these developments, Ultraleap will be retiring its STRATOS platform and products – the Inspire and Explore. Existing customers may continue to access the latest software and support will continue to be provided. The company, however, will not be developing the STRATOS software further and instead will be focusing on the next generation of mid-air haptics products and solutions.
Please get in touch with Ultraleap if you have any questions about the new developments or STRATOS retirement process.
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About Ultraleap
Ultraleap’s world-leading hand tracking and unrivalled mid-air haptic technologies allow you to engage with the digital world naturally - without touching surfaces. No touchscreens. No controllers. No keypads. From enhancing 2D screens to developing fully immersive 3D experiences, Ultraleap powers natural, safe and effortless digital interaction in the increasingly connected world.
Ultraleap employs more than 150 people across Europe, North America and Asia. It has become the first to offer the full vertical stack of software and hardware to enable spatial computing for the automotive, out of home, industrial, XR, entertainment and medical sectors.
More information:
(Interviews available on request).
Media Enquiries:
Tessa Urlwin
Ultraleap
+44 (0)7741 851 070
tessa.urlwin@ultraleap.com