Zytronic Partners with The Coca-Cola Company on New Beverage Dispensing Platform

Zytronic has been chosen by The Coca-Cola Company to supply the touch panel for its proprietary CocaCola Freestyle™ beverage dispenser. The dispenser utilizes innovative technology to dispense more than 100 different branded sparkling and still beverages from a single freestanding unit.

For nearly four years, The Coca-Cola Company has been developing the proprietary dispensing system. The Coca-Cola Freestyle™ dispensers will incorporate a ZYBRID® customised touch sensor, which uses Zytronic’s patented Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT™), as the consumer and crew interface. This technology is made up of a matrix of ultra-fine capacitors, which are embedded within a pure glass panel. It also enables the dispenser to share product information via a bright 15.1” display, and to gather important consumer choice data with the aid of an intuitively designed graphical user interface (GUI).

With Coca-Cola Freestyle™, the touch display is mounted behind a moulded polycarbonate full-front facia that can be wiped clean. Uniquely, ZYBRID sensors are able to work through this overlying material facilitating a design without the need for a display bezel, which is both stylish and hygienic.

“Zytronic is excited to be involved in such an innovative project,” says Mark Cambridge, Zytronic’s CEO. “A touchscreen is an excellent solution for this application with such a broad selection of beverage options. The self-service restaurant environment in which Coca-Cola Freestyle™ will be used demands an extremely reliable touchscreen. Zytronic is able to provide accurate touch-enabled functionality that is not impeded by the overlying moulded front fascia.”

Coca-Cola Freestyle™ units are being tested in a number of select quick-serve restaurant establishments in Georgia and California this summer, before a wider introduction currently planned for early next year.