Displax revealed a groundbreaking multi-touch technology at ISE, claiming its ‘skin’ can turn any non-conductive flat or curved surface into a multi-touch screen.
The large-format multi-touch technology is claimed to be the first of its kind and is based on a transparent thinner-than-paper polymer film. When applied to glass, plastic or wood, the surface becomes interactive. The technology can also be applied to standard LCD screens.
It can be applied to flat or curved, opaque as well as transparent surfaces up to three metres across the diagonal. It is hyper sensitive, allowing users to interact with an enabled surface not just by touching it but also by blowing on it. Currently, the technology can detect up to 16 fingers on a 50-inch screen. Displax says the number of fingers detected will increase as development progresses.
“Multitouch is the future of interacting with a wide range of technologies. For the commercial markets, the Displax Multitouch Technology will open up new opportunities for many market players, technology vendors as well as businesses,” said Miguel Fonseca, chief business officer of Displax. ”It is extremely powerful, precise and versatile. Almost everyone who sees it thinks of new applications, from converting LCDs into a multi-touch screens, tables into multi-touch tables, to creating interactive information screens in stores, shopping malls or public areas, to developing new exciting gaming environments. We already have a number of interesting pilots in progress across Europe.”
Based on patent-pending projected capacitive technology, the multi-touch technology uses a controller that works by processing multiple input signals it receives from a grid of nanowires embedded in the film attached to the enabled surface. Each time a finger is placed on the screen or a user blows on the surface, a small electrical disturbance is caused. The micro-processor controller analyses this data and decodes the location of each input on that grid to track the finger and air-flow movements. The Displax Multitouch technology controller combined with a projected capacitive nanowired film is lightweight, scalable and is suitable for indoor or outdoor displays.