Above you can see some common items everyone has: a watch, smart watch, smart phone, and even a gaming controller which all have some amazing technology behind them. During my exploration of CES 2014 I met up with Vivitouch, who are working on some amazing haptic technology that can be used in a variety of electronics. This is all thanks to some very small electroactive polymers, which replace the need for motors in devices like controllers and can save plenty of space and power.
What you see are different versions of the electroactive polymers, which with a small current can create a powerful rumble. The first two are different versions of the polymers that can be implemented in different ways, while the third is inserted into a battery pack.
During my meeting I tried on a pair of the new Tritton Kunai headset which features the Vivitouch Haptic Feedback built in along with a custom 360 controller and played some Half Life 2. Quickly you could feel a huge difference in the controller which had a better kick and feel with the same responsive controls, and the audio quality had a deeper and richer sound as the two created a true immersive feeling consistently.
Something else that was shown is the Sinister, a haptic PC gaming controller you can customize to your liking. While only a prototype, the controller will feature the Vivitouch haptic technology. I can’t wait to actually play with this sometime down the line since it had some great possibilities with the Oculus Rift.
Vivitouch is definitely something to keep a close eye on in the near future.