SAN JOSE, Calif., May 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boréas Technologies, a developer of ultra-low-power, high-definition (HD) haptic technologies, today announced at Display Week 2019 a collaborative relationship with TDK Electronics, aimed at accelerating the most energy-efficient high-performance piezo haptic (touch-response) solutions for a broad range of applications. Boréas’ cooperation agreement with TDK Electronics, a subsidiary of TDK Corporation (TSE:6762), focuses on the joint design and marketing of advanced touch-response solutions using TDK’s PowerHap™ and PiezoHapt™ families of piezo actuators for haptic feedback combined with Boréas’ piezo haptic driver technology. (See press release, “TDK cooperates with Boréas on smart haptic solutions,” May 14, 2019.)
Reflecting on his company’s newly announced relationship with TDK Electronics, Simon Chaput, founder and CEO of Boréas Technologies, said, “Collaborating with TDK enables us to access their extensive sales and marketing network to accelerate the adoption of piezo haptics globally.
“Furthermore, this cooperation will enable faster time to market for our customers by reducing the amount of engineering required to implement a piezo haptic solution using Boréas’ driver ICs with TDK’s piezo actuators.”
Dr. Georg Kuegerl, CTO of the TDK Piezo & Protection Devices Business Group, TDK Electronics, added, “Our partnership with Boréas Technologies is a further step to expand our market reach to customers, who are looking for superior technological haptic solutions. In particular, they will benefit from Boréas’ expert design of drivers for our wide range of piezo actuators.”
Boréas will also demonstrate at Display Week (May 14-16, 2019 in San Jose, Calif.) SmartClik, its proof-of-concept platform delivering a more immersive, satisfying touch user-interface for smartphones, wearables and other battery-powered consumer devices.
“More immersive touch experiences that satisfy human need for realistic feedback is driving the next major innovation in smartphones, wearables, cars and other smart systems,” said Chris Chinnock, founder and president, Insight Media. “Haptic feedback — the functionality that conveys user-activated contextual information through vibrations, pulses or motion — is essential for meeting this need. Until very recently, however, haptic feedback has been fairly crude. Even today’s highest-end smartphones have just one haptic engine that shakes the whole phone when you push a button. Boréas Technologies and TDK Electronics’ collaboration to advance piezoelectric haptic actuators and drivers will give us something infinitely better: localized high-definition feedback that designers can customize for a wide range of electronic-device displays.”
Experience SmartClik: Buttonless Smartphone Platform
Boréas will demo SmartClik, its proof-of-concept buttonless smartphone at Booth 1840, Table 28, The Innovation Zone (I-Zone) at Display Week (May 14-16, 2019, San Jose McEnery Convention Center, San Jose, Calif.)
SmartClik uses Boréas’ tiny, low-power, programmable HD haptic-feedback chip to replace the smartphone’s mechanical volume and power buttons, delivering more sophisticated HD tactile feedback over staid push-button user interfaces. Device designers can customize button usage from application to application to create a multi-purpose user interface for many different use cases.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5f286111-9729-4705-becb-28a70106aab8
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. For more information, visit: https://www.boreas.ca
About TDK Corporation
TDK Corporation is a leading electronics company based in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK's comprehensive portfolio features passive components such as ceramic, aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, as well as magnetics, high-frequency, and piezo and protection devices. The product spectrum also includes sensors and sensor systems such as temperature and pressure, magnetic, and MEMS sensors. In addition, TDK provides power supplies and energy devices, magnetic heads and more. These products are marketed under the product brands TDK, EPCOS, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics and TDK-Lambda. TDK focuses on demanding markets in the areas of information and communication technology and automotive, industrial and consumer electronics. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. In fiscal 2019, TDK posted total sales of USD 12.5 billion and employed about 105,000 people worldwide.
About TDK Electronics
TDK Electronics (formerly EPCOS) develops, manufactures and markets electronic components and systems under the product brands of TDK and EPCOS, focusing on fast-growing leading-edge technology markets, which include automotive electronics, industrial electronics and consumer electronics as well as information and communications technology. Thanks to the 24,000 employees at some 20 design and production locations and an extensive sales network, the company is globally positioned – beyond the provision of standard products – to work closely with customers and create the right solutions for them.
The Boréas logo is a registered trademark, and CapDrive is a trademark of Boréas Technologies Inc. PowerHap and PiezoHapt are trademarks of TDK Electronics. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.