Zytronic to Unveil New Controller Technology Offering Enhanced Functionality for Large Form/Factor PCT™ Touch Sensors

Examples of 12″ to 50″ Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT™) touch solutions will demonstrate potential for innovative industrial, self service and interactive digital signage user interface designs. At SID Display Week 2010, Zytronic, the leading developer of PCT™ products for public and industrial touchscreen applications, will introduce a new family of touch controllers designed to enhance user experience.

Designed for its proprietary range of touch sensors, the new touch controllers offer features such as dual touch output for linkage to “multi touch” or gesture recognition software, Windows® 7 plug and play, in-field firmware upgradeability and reduced PCB footprint. Visitors to the booth will also experience Zytronic’s latest touch solutions including a 50″ example of its unique large form/factor projected capacitive screens in the form of a multi touch ZYTOUCH® sensor. This can be used with LCD or rear projection systems up to 82″ in size, for applications such as street vending or interactive digital signage. In addition, a central podium featuring a 26″ custom ZYBRID® sensor will demonstrate a new driver function supporting the new controllers, which allows multiple touch zones and buttons to be defined on a single sensor. The unit will also serve as an example of how the technology supports today’s ergonomic and styling trends such as bezel-free designs and screen printed features.

The booth will also feature a quad touchscreen display highlighting the various unrivalled capabilities of PCT™, and using Zytronic’s customizable ZYBRID®.

Zytronic has gained another high level endorsement for its PCT-based touch sensors. By utilising these products,

leading digital entertainment system manufacturer, NSM Music Ltd, has added large format, durable, projected

capacitive touch screen functionality to its latest generation of online jukeboxes, icon™.

The icon range consists of the icon2, icon Apollo, and flagship product, icon

Fusion, with 19-inch, 40-inch and 32-inch touchscreens respectively, and all

feature a custom designed ZYBRID fully touch sensor. Via NSM’s rich user

interface, customers can quickly and easily browse and select from more than

80,000 music/video tracks, as well as gaining access to You Tube™, and RSS

feeds of sports results, news and weather reports, all at the touch of a finger.

ZYBRID is fully customisable and can meet the needs of any form/factor

display requirements between 5 and 82-inches. The PCT sensor structure

utilised by ZYBRID detects touch via tiny capacitance changes in a matrix of

micro-fine capacitors, embedded within a laminated substrate. This substrate

can be placed behind thick protective overlays and the technology can be

fully sealed into a bezel, facilitating IP67 levels of protection from water

ingress. As a result, the touch sensor is extremely well protected from

scratches, dirt, liquid spills, harsh cleaning fluids, and other forms of

impairment that often shorten the operational lifespan of resistive, optical and

other front surface detection touchscreens, for example.

Furthermore, PCT sensors can be designed to eliminate the need for a frame and can also be screen printed, enabling

sleek all-glass fronted display designs to be created, with the added benefit of a hygienic wipe clean surface free of a

dirt trapping bezel.

The sensor matrix subdivides the screen into pixel-like cells. The size and resolution of the touch-sensitive area can be

scaled up by adding extra capacitors, enabling a broad spectrum of possible screen formats. The diameter of the

capacitors in the sensor matrix is just 10µm, making them effectively invisible when the display is powered. Thus, in

contrast to surface capacitive and resistive sensors – which require a continuous conductive coating over the entire

screen front, light transmission is unimpaired. In the case of the icon unit, PCT has allowed the jukebox’s readability to

be maximised, and not compromised by the lighting conditions of the venue in which it is located.

“We have been working with Zytronic for over 5 years now, and value its high levels of product support. Through this

collaboration, we have developed industry-leading products that are highly durable, without any sacrifice being made

in terms of their visual appeal,” Henry Paulinski, Marketing Manager at NSM Music Ltd, confirms. “NSM Music prides

itself not just on the value-added features we offer such as YouTube, bingo and karaoke, but also the style and design

aesthetics that its products deliver. Alternative touch sensing solutions considered for icon would have meant

abandoning the original ultra-modern, eye-catching shape envisaged, and potentially left the units exposed to

accidental or deliberate damage.”

“Public entertainment venues, such as bars, pubs and clubs can represent a demanding environment for a touch

screen to operate within. Designers of media systems for these applications, such as video jukebox manufacturers

need to offer their customers advanced, feature-rich facilities, with absolute consistency of performance,” states Ian

Crosby, Zytronic’s sales and marketing director. “Thanks to ZYBRID-based touch control, NSM’s icon jukeboxes combine

stylish looks, compelling graphical user interface design, new functionality and high reliability. This ensures the units

have a longer lifetime, downtime stays low, customers stay happier and proprietors can maximize their revenues.”

— Ends — About Zytronic About Zytronic

Zytronic designs and manufactures a range of technologies that optimise the performance of electronic display

applications. The company’s principle products include award-winning touch sensor technologies, optical filters for

enhanced performance and protection, and special filters to minimise electromagnetic emissions. In addition, the

company can offer complex shaped glass composites for specialised applications.

Zytronic products are used in electronic displays for information kiosks, web phones, ATMs and gaming machines, as

well as by military, computer, telecommunications, medical and lighting 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. sensors. These include a 15-inch LCD unit demonstrating how PCT can be optically bonded for extreme outdoor applications where sunlight readability and thermal management is paramount. Two further exhibits will demonstrate PCT’s throughglass sensing capability, which greatly extends the application range of touchscreen technology; and how, with the use of a mirrored-glass front, a touch display can be used to create an interactive smart-mirror for use in appliance and retail applications.

Completing the feature display, a printed, ground and polished ZYBRID® touchscreen combined with a 12″ LCD and providing an additional array of touch-sensitive buttons will demonstrate how PCT™ supports new levels of system integration. This new solution from Zytronic is expected to be of great interest to designers of touch user-interface applications such as industrial computing, security and self-service terminals as it allows a full drag-and-drop touch screen to be combined with a keyboard, pin pad or hotkeys located outside the viewable area of the LCD. This simplifies integration and reduces peripheral devices and mechanical buttons for greater reliability, reduced cost and enhanced appearance.