Embedded World 2010

Embedded World 2010

Victor Viegas, Interim CEO and Director
Immersion Corporation

Opinion for the haptics application market in 2010

Mobile phones have been a key driver for Immersion over the past several years. Debuting in the Korean
market almost 5 years ago, Immersion’s TouchSense haptic technology has shipped in over 70 million
mobile handsets worldwide. Initially found in high‐end feature phones, haptics is gaining popularity in
touchscreen phones. We expect this trend to continue as handsets continue to evolve and become
more complex and sophisticated. Manufacturers have recognized how critical user experience is to
consumers and that touch feedback makes products more efficient, intuitive and fun.
Immersion continues to innovate and recently announced the TouchSense 4000, a new solution that
leverages multiple actuators to provide “stereo‐quality” haptics. Just as stereo took audio listeners to a
more enjoyable listening experience, our TouchSense 4000 uses multiple actuators to create similar
stereo effects. Handsets will soon be able to provide different haptic effects in different physical areas
of the phone, and be able to vary those effects in a more sophisticated manner. We’re dedicated to
constantly improving and refining our solutions, integrating new technology and helping our partners
produce exceptional, differentiated products. Our research and development team are working on even
more innovations that we expect will launch later this year.

Immersion’s role to create the Korean mobile haptic culture

Korea has long been regarded as a leading and highly competitive market for the cell phone industry
where adoption of technology often occurs well ahead of the rest of the world. Samsung and LG, both
long‐time partners, were at the forefront of valuing touch feedback and integrating our technology in
their products. Early implementations included gaming, ringtone and music enhancements – and with
the advent of the touchscreen, we really saw haptic adoption take off. These key partners continue to
bring exciting, innovative products to market – it’s been a great validation of the value of our solutions.
We estimate that TouchSense technology is currently included in 25% of all touchscreen‐based phones
with that share continuing to grow. With Samsung and LG leading and proving consumer demand, we’ve
since licensed other manufacturers around the world.

Prospect for other industrial applications in Korea

We’re changing the way that people interact with technology. An early application for haptics that
continues to be a strong market for us is console gaming and peripherals; gamers have been clear, force
feedback/rumble is a requirement. While over the past several years our cell phone business has really
grown, we’re now seeing haptics being leveraged across a range of consumer electronics including
digital cameras, personal navigation devices, media players, laptops and tablet computers; we expect
this to continue. Other markets include appliances, office equipment and industrial controls – the
adoption of touchscreens in such a wide variety of products has resulted in great opportunities for us.
Another interesting market is automotive; our touch feedback technology is licensed to manufacturers
and suppliers to make navigating and controlling infotainment systems more intuitive and less
distracting.

What’s distinguishable from other competitors

Immersion is truly the leader in developing and licensing haptics technology. We were founded in 1993
and have since built a broad intellectual property portfolio of over 800 issued or patents pending in the
U.S. and other countries. Our solutions are sophisticated and reflect the best research and development
in the market. We’re enhancing user experiences by using touch feedback to increase satisfaction and
add an emotional element, as touch is our most intimate sense.
We partner with great companies who understand the value of touch and our innovations have resulted
in hundreds of products that integrate high‐fidelity haptic systems to power exceptional user
experiences.

http://www.immersion.com/about/news-room/docs/Embedded-World_Jan10-english.pdf