
Achieving a 90% size reduction compared to previous models while maintaining high vibration performance, Alps Alpine has launched the compact Haptic Reactor “U-Type,” that can be installed by design engineers in tight spaces that were a challenge previously. It’s the latest product development from the Japanese electronics company which prides itself on magnetic expertise honed over 30 years of advancing technology in both saturation-type and linear-type magnetic sensing.
Developed primarily for installation in automotive steering wheels and air conditioning control units, mass production of the haptic device began in November 2024. Using saturation-type magnetic sensing, it can be an alternative to push switches which are commonly used in automotive control units. However, driven by the trend toward higher-quality interior design, touch panels are increasingly replacing traditional switches. While electronic sounds are often employed to confirm operations on touch panels, there is growing demand for vibration-based feedback as an alternative. This approach ensures intuitive usability while maintaining cabin quietness.
Alps Alpine has been providing haptic reactors as tactile feedback devices to meet such needs. However, conventional models, due to their larger size, were difficult to integrate into space-constrained areas like touch panel-based steering wheels and air-conditioning controls. By optimizing mechanical and magnetic designs, the “U-Type” achieves sufficient vibration force despite its smaller size. It provides an effective tactile response when used in steering wheels or air-conditioning control units.
As the demand for vibration devices is expected to expand beyond the automotive market into consumer and industrial equipment markets, Alps Alpine aims to broaden its lineup with more variations in vibration strength, size and shape to meet diverse customer needs.
Contact-less sensing by magnetism: creating the future of automobiles and devices
Magnetic sensors can detect proximity, rotation, and position without contact using the unseen power of magnetism. The sensor is highly durable, and there is no contact wear because it can sense objects without touch. From automobiles, smartphones, and home electronics to computers, the technology has a wide range of applications and is becoming an essential part of everyday life.
Alps has been developing magnetism technologies for more than 30 years, ranging from the sensor itself to its modularization and adapting them for a diverse array of uses. The company began developing its magnetism technologies to make magnetic heads that could both read and write audio data, going on to use those heads in hard disk drives. Now magnetic sensors are the core of many products in its lineup.
Research & development of both magnetic saturation and linear sensors
Magnetic sensors are broadly classified into saturation-type and linear-type according to the detection method of the space affected by magnetism. The saturation type is less susceptible to various external forces and can measure with high precision even in the presence of other magnetic fields, while linear-type sensors have superior magnetic sensitivity, the company explains.

Saturation is growing into a type of detection used mainly with magnets. Its performance is not easily affected by other external forces, and it can measure with high precision even around causes of errors, such as the presence of other magnetic fields. An example of a saturation-type magnetic sensor is one that detects whether a laptop computer is open or closed. A magnet and a magnetic sensor are installed in the body and display to detect the proximity to determine whether it is open or closed.
Linear detection does not require a magnet and has a superior sensitivity that allows it to measure in magnetized spaces. An example of a linear-type sensor can be found in orientation detection in map apps on smartphones. Direction is determined by reading the surrounding magnetic fields. Alps Alpine has strong technological capabilities in producing both types of sensors and is working to create products with them.
Saturation sensors that support the evolution of automobiles
One of Alps Alpine’s strengths with magnetism technology is its use of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) elements in both types of sensors. GMRs can make very accurate magnetic measurements because they are highly sensitive and can detect changes in spaces that are covered in minute magnetic fields. Also, another advantage is that it features stable sensing in extremely large magnetic fields. Moreover, GMR is also energy efficient, a prized attribute in battery-powered devices.
Saturation-type sensors made by Alps are widely used in automobiles. Conventionally, rods that transmit rotation and wires that transmit how much the pedals have been pressed have been in use, but the wear and tear over time on these parts has been a problem. Non-contact magnetic sensors can prevent the wear on these parts, maintain their functionality, and extend the life of these products.
Today’s automobiles generally have anywhere from 50 to 100 magnetic sensors in them. In addition to steering wheels, pedals, and other controls, engineers at Alps are developing products that can be used in central mechanisms such as traction motors and oil pumps.
The company predicts that saturation-type sensors will be used increasingly in other areas such as home appliances and game console controllers in the future. Simple, low-cost, sensors with lower sensitivity than GMR had been widely used for on/off and angle detection. In recent years, however, more advanced standards are required for the sensors mounted on these devices as needs become more segmented and the devices themselves evolve.
Linear sensors contribute to high functionality in smartphones
R&D teams at Alps do a great deal of work on highly magnetic, linear-type sensors for installation in smartphones as orientation sensors. These high-precision sensors can detect minute magnetic changes in a space, allowing them to precisely detect the location and measure change.
A similar product to be released for smartphones is a magnetic sensor for the camera lens. The trend in smartphone camera lenses is toward larger aperture sizes. Along with actuators that control zoom and image stabilization, magnetic sensors play an increasingly larger role and Alps Alpine works to develop actuators along with magnetic sensors to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs.
Linear-type sensors are widely used in the automotive field. Electric vehicles, particularly, can take advantage of the low-noise characteristics of GMR. Alps engineers are currently building battery management systems that can capture small magnetic patterns and weak fluctuations even when the vehicle is in spaces with varying voltages and magnetism that may affect its motion. For more info, see www.alpsalpine.com.