CIE Components in Electronics
Most of us have used a self-service, multi-user kiosk at some point in our lives, to purchase train tickets, to select our burger at a fast food restaurant, to pay for parking in a multi-story car park, to check-in at a hospital or airport to name just a few. The question is, will COVID-19, or possibly some future virus strain make people reluctant about using these now necessary machines. To alleviate user’s worry’s will kiosk owners/operators now have to provide an anti-bacterial wipe to ensure the screen surface is free from possible harmful contamination before each use or will each new user be provided with a disposable stylus? Both are possible solutions, but both come with their own problems. At Craft Data Ltd we believe we have the perfect solution to protect users from potentially harmful germs picked up from cross contamination, a Contactless Touch System.
The new touch is called “Untact” and is based on infrared technology, however, whereas in conventional IR touch frames the IR emitters and detectors are mounted as close to the display surface as possible, typically 5mm, “Untact” Touch technology moves the IR emitters and detectors 25mm away from the front of the display which obviously makes the detection of a stylus (finger or gloved finger) 25mm away from the physical touch point being displayed on the TFT LCD panel. To help the user understand that the touch has been registered without the act of physically touching the screen the touch has two haptics built into the touch frame, “light” and “sound” and one external haptic, “visual” which requires additional software loaded onto the kiosks hard drive.
The haptics help in the following ways:
- Visual – a transparent animated target is superimposed over the users intended touch target displayed on the TFT LCD panel (software supplied).
- Light – LEDs mounted around the edge of the display will switch on at the detection of a stylus and off when the stylus is removed.
- Sound – a buzzer/beeper sounds to indicate the detection of a stylus.
The use of these three haptics clearly indicates to the user that a touch has been registered which in tests prompted the user to move onto the next screen/process within the menu driven application programme. Another unique feature to the “Untact” touch is its polygonal touch function which detects and dismisses a hand or sleeve should these be placed within the touch area in error alongside the intended touch stylus. “Untact” also supports a 6-point Multi-Touch function giving users the same pinch and pull functionality they associate with their own smartphones.
There are currently four sizes within the “Untact” range, 21.5”, 23.8”, 27.0” and 32.0”, all have a 1920×1080 resolution and are in the 16:9 format. IPS or MVA technology TFT LCD panels are used, ensuring that all monitors have ultra-wide viewing angles of 178° on both the horizontal and vertical axis allowing for the monitors to be mounted in both landscape and portrait orientations without the loss of image quality and colour. Further sizes are in planning plus we can also offer a full customisation service should you require a certain panel size, high brightness or a complete bespoke monitor for an outdoor application requiring full ruggedization.
Contact:
Craft Data Limited
Tel: 01296 332000
Email: sales@craftdata.co.uk
www.craftdata.co.uk/product-overview/overview/untact-kiosk-touch-monitors
