Durable touch technology withstands good luck traditions

Diamond rings may bring luck to players – but not to console touchscreens

The ritual of kissing your diamond ring and touching it to the display before you play is thought to bring luck to slot machine players in some countries – but doesn’t do much for the touchscreens on the games. Global Monitor, Mexico’s leading specialist supplier of screens to the casino game cabinet industry, has standardised on 23” Zytronic Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT™) touch screens for game manufacturer International Gold Club, to overcome an issue with scratched touchscreens.

Juan Manuel Sanchez Ramirez of Global Monitor, explains, “Women in Mexico often kiss their diamond rings and touch them to the screens for luck. This tradition was quickly scratching the surface capacitive touch sensors and causing them to fail.”

Global Monitor specialises in the development and integration of touch displays for Mexico’s top five casino organisations, suppling screens, associated components and digital signage technologies. Faced with this issue, International Gold Club sought help from Ramirez who decided to look beyond his traditional supplier base, and identified Zytronic PCT touch sensors as a good alternative that would overcome the issue. Zytronic sensors sit behind a 4mm thick toughened glass panel and are thus unaffected by on-screen scratches.

He comments, “Over the last six months, we have installed over 300 screens with Zytronic PCT touch overlays. The technology is extremely fast and accurate, and best of all we’ve had no failures due to scratches. Zytronic technology has provided a durable and reliable solution that allows players to continue their beloved ritual.”

In addition to being well protected, Zytronic’s touch sensors are also drift-free and require no recalibration, consequently lowering maintenance time and cost while offering a fast, accurate response time of less than 10ms.

“Global Monitor’s problem was unusual, but their success with our touch sensors shows again how Zytronic PCT touch technology can be relied on in applications where other technologies fail. In addition to being better protected, our sensors offer a better touch experience with a faster, more accurate response,” said Ian Crosby, Sales and Marketing Director, Zytronic.