Why Linear Actuators Are Replacing Traditional Rumble Haptics for Gaming

howtogeek.com:

Since the first console controllers to feature rumble made it into the hands of gamers, we’ve been able to literally feel the world on the other side of the screen. Linear Actuators are the latest evolution of this immersive technology.

The rumble effect we all know and love uses a simple yet ingenious method to create vibrations in the controller. There are usually two electric motors, one in each grip, that spin an unbalanced weight. They are known as eccentric rotors and the principle is the same as having an unbalanced washing machine. As the unbalanced weight spins around it wobbles, making the controller rumble. By varying the speed of the motor, the intensity and vibration frequency can be varied.

In modern controllers that use this design, such as the Xbox One controller shown below, the two rumble motors have different sized weights.

This allows a greater range of rumble types and blending of rumble types. The motors themselves have also become much stronger and more precise over the years, so the haptic experience from a modern controller such as the Xbox Series controllers feels much more refined and powerful than, for example, a PlayStation 2 DualShock controller.

However, VR controllers, the PlayStation 5 DualSense, and the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons don’t have these rumble motors. Instead, they use a device known as a Linear Actuator also known as a Linear Resonant Actuator, or sometimes a “voice coil motor”.

A linear actuator gets its name from how it moves its mass. Where the traditional rumble motor spins its mass around, a linear actuator moves its mass back and for along an axis. Linear actuators are usually labeled depending on which axis they are aligned to. They are commonly used in smartphones for haptic