Xiaomi Mobile has officially released the Xiaomi Mi 10 series smartphones. In addition to the camera module upgrade, it also uses an X-axis linear motor. Today, the manufacturer introduced the reason why this series comes with the X-axis linear motor (horizontal motor) as standard.
Also Read: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro Review
Xiaomi official first showcased the difference between a rotor motor (Eccentric rotating mass) and a linear motor (Linear resonant actuator):
The rotor motor is similar to the motor used in toy four-wheel drive vehicles. The principle is that a small motor drives the eccentric rotor to rotate, thereby generating vibration. It has a simple structure and small size. The main major disadvantage of the rotor motor is that the response speed is slow. It is unable to achieve emergency start and emergency stop, which makes the smartphone vibrate a bit.
The linear motor is similar to a pile driver. It consists of a stator and a mover. The stator consists of a coil and FPC. The mover consists of a mass and a magnet. The energized coil receives the Lorentz force in the magnetic field and carries the mover. The reciprocating motion in a fixed direction produces a vibrating sensation, and the frequency of the motion depends on the driving signal frequency. The linear motor has fast response speed, strong vibration sensation, vibration direction, vibration frequency and waveform are adjustable. So it can achieve more complex and customized vibration effects.
In addition, the official also introduced the differences between the existing linear motors in detail: linear motors are divided into Z-axis linear motors (also known as circular linear motors) and X-axis linear motors (also known as rectangular or transverse linear motors). Moving in the Z-axis direction, the vibration stroke is relatively short, and the X-axis linear motor can achieve a longer stroke and a longer acceleration time. So the X-axis linear motor has a stronger vibration feeling than the Z-axis linear motor.
Comparison of linear motor and rotor motor drive options
In addition to the different structures of linear motors and rotor motors, the driving options are also very different: linear drive chips can output peak voltages of up to 10V. Under high-voltage driving, the start-stop time can be further reduced and the vibration intensity can be improved. The dozens of vibration waveforms built into the driver chip can be used with audio decoders to achieve audio vibration. Through post-experience optimization, accurate and targeted vibration feedback can be achieved in a variety of scenarios. The rotor motor does not support high-voltage drive output or built-in drive waveforms.
X-axis linear motor> Z-axis linear motor> Rotor motor> Flat rotor motor
In addition to introducing the differences between linear motors and rotor motors, the official also introduced the criteria for judging the quality of a motor: start-stop time and vibration amount (characterizing vibration intensity). These two indicators are the key to measuring the quality of a motor, and also the key to see if the motor can be “short and powerful”.
It can be seen from the above table that the X-axis linear motor of the Xiaomi Mi 10 has a start / stop time of 4ms and a peak vibration amount of 3.1Gpp at a short-circuit voltage of 8V. Therefore, the Xiaomi Mi 10 can achieve crisp. The feedback from the mechanical keyboard is short and powerful.
Xiaomi officially stated that in addition to the motor hardware, system adaptability is also very important. It said that the Xiaomi Mi 10 optimized MIUI based on its X-axis linear motor and customized up to 153 vibration scenarios.
UI interactive touch
MIUI customizes different vibration effects for the interactive operation of different interfaces. For example, the large buttons on the dial pad numeric keyboard, calculator keyboard, and input method provide short and moderate vibration feedback; the interface is light on floating buttons and virtual keys under the button bring a brisk vibration feedback.
Ringing scene
In MIUI, different ringtones have different vibration effects. The vibration effect matches the melody of the ringtone. It makes the ringtone more diverse and achieves a more three-dimensional multi-dimensional reminder effect.
Game 4D shock
Through the recognition of various game sound effects such as gun sounds and vehicle sounds, MIUI has customized many game 4D shock sensations: different scenarios (jumping, landing, vehicle collision, etc.), different weapons (AKM, AWM, VSS, etc.), different kills (normal kills, headshot kills, three kills and more) all have different vibration effect feedback. It can bring a variety of 4D shocks to the player, which greatly enhances the sense of presence and immersion in the game.
