Pressure Sensors / Detectors / Transducers
Transporting Furniture Into the Digital Age; Zytronic Enhances Interactive Tables with Multi-Touch Technology
Share:
Encouraging social interaction through advanced touch technology in the home leisure environments
Zytronic, with the assistance of its French distributor Eurocomposant, has secured on-going business with interactive furniture producer HUMElab. The touchscreen manufacturer is now producing ultra-durable p-cap sensors for a series of multi-touch table products, targeted at use in home, restaurant and hospitality settings.
Requiring leading-edge multi-touch operation, it was vital for HUMElab that the touch sensors supplied for this project were able to meet a number of challenging criteria. Firstly: the sensors needed to withstand the stresses associated with high usage public areas, be low maintenance and easy to clean, whilst still maintaining accurate multi-touch responses. Secondly, the sensors needed to be aesthetically pleasing and fit comfortably into high-end luxury environments. Zytronic's award winning Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT™) was chosen as it fulfils all of these requirements.
Combining beautifully designed furniture with Zytronic's innovative multi-touch solutions, each HUMElab TABATA table incorporates a large format, HD, touch-enabled display. Through which users can carry out a wide range of exciting functions, such as playing complex multi-user games, ordering food, surfing the web and connecting with friends via social media, etc.
Supplied to HUMElab in 22, 32 and 42-inch formats, each sensor features elegant customised printed borders with sleek polished edges; offering an attractive bezel-less design. While antiglare, thermally-toughened 4 and 6mm glass allows for excellent readability in all light conditions as well as protecting the sensing elements from environmental and physical damage.
Zytronic's PCT™ technology is manufactured using a micro-fine metal matrix of sensing elements (only 10 microns in diameter) embedded into a laminated substrate. The technology allows recognition of complex gestures as well as enabling up to 4 people to operate the sensor at the same time, sharing the exciting, immersive experience.
Zytronic sensors are impervious to sensor drift, unlike other forms of sensor technology, such as infrared (IR) or surface acoustic wave (SAW); this means PCT™ sensors do not require regular calibration. Furthermore the sensors are supported by Zytronic's proprietary ZXY200 multi-touch controller. One of the many advanced features offered by the controller is; state-of-the-art ‘palm rejection' firmware – enabling the touchscreens to ignore anomalous, large touch points. This feature is particularly important when touch sensors are deployed for use in tables where the probability for users to lean over the active area and register false touches is high.
"Zytronic's touch sensors were chosen because of the fluidity of their touch response and the 40 simultaneous touch points that they can support," explains Armand Menargues, International Sales Director at HUMElab. "The sensors also showed themselves to have other advantageous qualities in terms of maintenance as there is no need to calibrate the system anything like as often as with the previous solution we used."
"There were a number of key criteria that had to be met for this project. Firstly HUMElab required a solution that could deliver exceptional multi-touch detection. By being able to determine multiple touch points simultaneously, everyone around the touch table can participate and enjoy shared involvement," adds Ian Crosby, Sales Marketing Director at Zytronic. "This needed to be backed up by both responsiveness and accuracy of the touch sensor, plus support for a sleek, eye-catching exterior. We were able to present HUMElab with a solution that surpassed their expectations on all of these points."
About Zytronic
Zytronic is the developer and manufacturer of a unique range of internationally award-winning touch sensor products. These products employ an embedded sensing element and are based around projected capacitive technology (PCT™) sensing. PCT offers significant durability, environmental stability and optical enhancement benefits to system designers of touch interactive, industrial, self - service and public access equipment. During 2012, Zytronic developed new know-how to create mutual projected capacitive technology (MPCT™), which enables multi-user and multi touch sensing in ultra large form factor sizes up to 84".
Zytronic products are used in electronic displays for self service and information systems, ATMs and gaming machines, as well as by military, computer, telecommunications and medical OEMs, and are available from its network of worldwide distributors. The company has its headquarters and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Blaydon, Tyne & Wear in the UK. In addition to ISO-approved manufacturing, these facilities are home to Zytronic's team of lamination, material science and electronics specialists who are responsible for ongoing product development in composite technology.
For more company information, visit Zytronic's web site at www.zytronic.co.uk or find us on
Contact details for sales enquiries and regional representatives:
Asia - http://www.zytronic.co.uk/how-to-buy/sales-channel-partners/asia-pacific/Â
Americas - http://www.zytronic.co.uk/how-to-buy/sales-channel-partners/americas/
EMEA - http://www.zytronic.co.uk/how-to-buy/sales-channel-partners/europe-middle-east-and-africa/
Ref: ZY429/A
