Senseg, a leader in electrostatic haptics, today announced that it has created a new category of flexible electronics by launching a family of roll-to-roll manufactured actuators for use in traditional flat actuator applications as well as for new applications, such as wearables, soft robotics, VR/AR devices, and interior integrated sensors.

Called Senseg ELFIAC (Elastomeric Film Actuator), the new product will deliver large-scale manufacturable actuators that are far less expensive to produce than comparable traditional actuators (such as piezos) and use cheaper, non-toxic materials. The inherent flexibility of the low-power ELFIAC technology, enables new applications with unprecedented form factors and geometries.

Senseg ELFIAC is completed by the simultaneous introduction of an advanced, ultra-compact, and low-power high-voltage driver circuit for ELFIAC. This circuit is powered by a proprietary system-in-package (SiP) S220 chip, which Senseg has jointly developed with ST Microelectronics. ELFIAC and the S220 based high voltage driver are now available as user-friendly demo kits including software.

The actuator market, currently pegged at $50 billion globally and expanding to $75 billion by 2025, according to MarketsandMarkets, includes consumer, automotive, healthcare, industrial automation, hydraulic, and other vertical market segments. As the ELFIAC technology can be manufactured in almost any size and shape – flat or curved – it can address many of these markets and is most cost-effective in applications larger than mobile devices.

The Senseg breakthrough with ELFIAC lies in the combination of mastering newly developed roll-to-roll manufacturing technologies for the flexible electronics and in developing uniquely compact high voltage driver that is intended for low power and low current applications.

The Senseg ELFIAC technology includes the following features: