In “Nidec Journal Discovery,” N-Dog, a new Nidec employee, visits our global sites in search of “the [___]in the Nidec Group,” uncovering what makes our technology , people, and locations truly special along the way.
In this first episode, N-Dog visits Nidec Precision Corporation looking for the smallest motor!
Let’s see what they finds there.
00:00Opening: Searching for small motors in Vietnam
03:37Visiting the Tokyo head office – a 1.4mm-thick vibration actuator
06:30Optical technologies for compact and precision products to serve as robots’ eyes
08:02Motors that are 8mm in diameter for robots’ fingertips
09:37The future that compact-, thin-, and precision-product technologies create
Small motors found in Vietnam
Looking for the smallest motor in the Nidec Group, N-Dog first visited Nidec Precision Vietnam , after noticing the word “Precision” in the company’s name.
The factory produces various products, including compact motors for robots’ joints and vibration motors for mobile terminals. N-Dog was told by the factory’s employees about vibration devices to convey vibrations from PCs and smartphones to their users’ fingers. After knowing its Tokyo head office has even thinner motors, N-Dog travels to the capital for new discoveries.
1.4mm-thick vibration actuator to generate tactile perception
At Nidec Precision Corporation Tokyo , N-Dog is shown a vibration actuator (tactile device) that is only 1.4mm thick. When a user operates a touch pad, this product generates vibration to recreate the feel of an actual button.
By fine-tuning its vibration’s strength and length, the actuator can create a variety of tactile senses, such as clicking, wheeling, and sliding.
Optical technologies for compact and precision products for robots’ eyes
Nidec Precision also develops various small optical products, ranging from camera modules for mobile and automotive products to multi-stage deep-drawing-based mechanisms to micromini shutter mechanisms. The miniaturization and precision improvement technologies created here are utilized for industrial robots’ sensing functions as well, while being expected to be applied to humanoid robots. The company’s long-nurtured precision optical technologies are about to be used to realize “eyes” to accurately capture the user’s environment.
Motors that are 8mm in diameter for robots’ fingertips
The other product N-Dog had the opportunity to see is a compact motor only 8mm in diameter. Humanoid robots’ hands are required to grab an object with enough strength that it does not and gentle enough that it is not crushedCompact motors are required to work precisely to realize movement dexterously like a human hand.
The technologies for the small motors produced in Vietnam are used in a growing number of areas such as robots’ joints.
The future that the small-, thin-, and precision-product technologies create
Used for small motors, optical products, vibration motors, and tactile vibration devices, Nidec Precision long-fostered technologies for compact, thin, and precision products are now utilized for a variety of products and applied to new fields. In the future, we may be able to apply the tactile vibration technology to help remotely located robots communicate tactile sensations to people in faraway areas.