New Scale to make piezo motors for mobile-phone cameras

April 26, 2005
April 26, 2005, Victor, NY--New Scale Technologies has created a new division, dubbed Mobacam, to develop and manufacture miniature piezoelectric motors for mobile phone cameras. The motors will move optics to achieve autofocus and optical zoom.

April 26, 2005, Victor, NY--New Scale Technologies has created a new division, dubbed Mobacam, to develop and manufacture miniature piezoelectric motors for mobile phone cameras. The motors will move optics to achieve autofocus and optical zoom.

The devices, called Squiggle motors, have a threaded nut and screw, with piezoelectric ceramic actuators attached to the nut. The actuators are vibrated at ultrasonic frequencies, which causes the nut to circle eccentrically about the screw, turning the screw. When power is turned off, the screw maintains its position.

"The race to improve phone-camera image quality is creating a new market for one billion miniature motors," noted David Henderson, president of New Scale. Most of the more than 300 million phone cameras produced in 2005 will use fixed optics. By 2007, more than 500 million phone cameras will be manufactured, and most will have autofocus and optical zoom, according to a 2005 report on mobile imaging by Future Image (San Mateo, CA).

These phone cameras would benefit from new motor technology, because conventional motors are too large and use too much power. "Today's digital cameras use conventional electromagnetic motors with iron, copper, and magnets," Henderson said. "But electromagnetic motors have reached their limits in terms of miniaturization. Phone -amera designers need motors four times smaller than conventional motor technology can deliver."

The Squiggle motors are easily miniaturized to phone-camera dimensions. The motors have 90% fewer parts; five times greater power efficiency and ten times better precision are claimed.

Mobacam is seeking partners and investors for the Squiggle motor program. A reference camera design under development includes position sensors and single-chip ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) drive and control electronics. The company is working with several semiconductor suppliers to create the ASIC electronics. High-volume pricing is expected to be a few dollars per motor.

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