CIE Components in Electronics
Atmel Corporation has announced new automotive-qualified maXTouch controllers for in-car control systems. These new devices are intended to bring a smartphone experience into contemporary cars, even for drivers wearing gloves. Expanding the Atmel portfolio of maXTouch automotive-qualified devices, the new mXT143E and mXT224E touch controllers have been designed for small automotive touchscreens and touchpads up to 7 inches in diameter such as centre stack displays, navigation systems, radio human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and rear-seat entertainment systems.
By addressing smaller screen and touch-pad sizes, the mXT143E and mXT224E controllers complement the company’s growing family of automotive-qualified touchscreen controllers that support screens/pads from 2 to 12 inches in diameter.
With these new automotive-qualified maXTouch devices, Atmel is looking to strengthen its position as a touch innovator and supplier. The maXTouch family offers a rich feature set, including unlimited touches, fast response time, touch precision, robust operation and low power consumption.
The mXT143E and mXT224E are fully automotive-qualified according to AEC-Q100. The touchscreen controllers provide embedded functionalities that meet specific automotive design requirements, including high-temperature behaviour and reliable operation in harsh environments and with gloved fingers.
The high signal-to-noise ratio of 80:1 makes these devices ideal for very noisy environments. The devices provide full support for gloved hand operation on automotive touchscreens and pads.
The mXT143E and mXT224E embed X/Y position calculation as well as post-processing algorithms such as eliminating unintended touches which means that users can perform multi-touch gestures (pinch, stretch, etc.), while unintended touches, such as a resting hand on the screen, are rejected.
The devices feature true 12-bit touch functionality with independent X/Y tracking for up to 10 concurrent touches in real–time, allowing for the highest linearity and accuracy. Adaptation to high-resolution displays is easy and quick. The user-configurable ratio of X and Y lines supports a variety of aspect ratios from 4:3 to 16:9.
Additional maXTouch capabilities targeting automotive applications include frequency hopping during burst generation, self calibration, detect integration addressing EMI/EMC requirements and high reliability in harsh environments. With a scan speed of up to 280Hz, design engineers can provide character recognition for alpha-numeric inputs to the automotive HMI interfaces, another key feature for modern cars.
