Boreas Launches Ultra‑Low‑Power Piezo Haptic Engine for Wearables

Haptics technology specialist Boreas (Bromont, Quebec) has begun shipping reference designs based on its Piezo Haptic Engine (PHE), a module that delivers “high‑definition” feedback while consuming minimal power and fitting into the smallest form factors.

“We target a broad range of compact wearables—from fitness trackers to smartwatches—to deliver a noticeably richer user experience. Products incorporating our PHE are expected to hit the market early next year,” said Simon Chaput, founder and CEO of Boreas Technologies, to EE Times.

Simon Chaput

The growing demand for high‑quality haptic feedback across consumer and industrial devices is highlighted by a recent IDTechEx report.

The PHE couples Boreas’s own low‑power driver chip, the BOS 1901, with piezoelectric actuators supplied by multiple partners. “Every customer requires a custom configuration to unlock the best high‑definition haptic experience, so the process is a collaborative engineering effort,” Chaput explained.

“Wearables must feel light yet deliver satisfying tactile cues. Our Haptic Engine enables designers to use larger surface areas and create stylish, high‑performance products,” added Stuart Nixdorff, senior vice president of Boreas.

Over the past 18 months, the company has expanded its engineering team to meet growing demand, now employing 35 professionals, Chaput told EE Times.

What constitutes “HD” haptics?

Boreas positions its PHE as a significant leap beyond legacy linear resonant actuators (LRAs) and eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors that have dominated wearables. The performance of LRAs and ERMs is limited by their mass and volume.

By contrast, the PHE uses a tiny, off‑the‑shelf piezo actuator and exploits the mass of other internal components to generate haptic motion, breaking the typical size‑power trade‑off.

“Piezo actuators integrated with our PHE deliver stronger, more realistic, and faster haptic sensations,” Chaput said. The engine also boasts a compact footprint and ultra‑low power draw—critical when every millimeter and microamp matters.

Specifically, the PHE produces a broader haptic bandwidth—from 30 Hz to 300 Hz—compared with small LRAs that usually operate only at high frequencies above 200 Hz.

The PHE is reportedly up to ten times more power‑efficient than LRAs, extending battery life significantly. Rise times average 2.25 cycles versus 11 cycles for typical LRAs, while fall times drop below 10 ms compared to roughly 80 ms, creating more lifelike haptic effects.

“We believe we are the first in the sector to offer such an architecture and performance improvement,” Nixdorff affirmed.

Boreas was founded five years ago to commercialize CapDrive chip technology—originally developed at Harvard University—to enhance piezoelectric actuator performance before pivoting to haptics. Chaput was a key contributor to the chip’s process.

While the company does not disclose its fabrication partner, it assures that production can scale for even the highest‑volume consumer devices. Unit pricing for 10,000‑piece orders is below $2 per chip.

Chaput did not name the OEMs building the modules but indicated that many Tier 1 players are already integrating the PHE.

Texas Instruments remains the largest player in the piezoelectric driver market.

[This piece was originally edited to include the $5 price of a single BOS 1901, information taken from the Boreas web site. It has been updated to include the price for a typical volume order. — ed.]

>> This article was originally published on our sister site, EE Times.

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• Flexible actuators could bring more immersive haptics
• Improving haptic feedback with piezoelectric transducers
• Touch‑less haptics leverage ultrasound for feedback
• Adding a fine touch to human‑machine interfaces
• Deploying HMI functionality in near‑edge devices for IIoT connectivity

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