IRTOUCH Offers New Solution with an infrared touch screen interface

Beijing IRTOUCH Systems Co., Ltd. successfully made technical breakthrough, will deliver new infrared multi-touch product with the most thin border in the world at COMPUTEX 2012.

IRTOUCH Systems Co., Ltd, the world leading touchscreen provider, has been focus on research, development, and manufacturing of infrared and optical touch products for many years, provides customized solutions to different customers in various industries.

IRTOUCH has made significant structural changes, developed super-thin boarder infrared touch screens, the width of boarder is reduced to 14mm, and the thickness of product is reduced to 4.1mm while height of touch side is lower than 1.6mm. This new design provides simplified view and better integration capacity with monitor manufacturer, increased end user experiences and touch responsiveness.

Besides the structural changes, IRTOUCH implements multi-touch capacity on all product lines. The new large and super-large infrared touch screen with multi-touch, multi-people operation and multi-gestures will also be available in this COMPUTEX 2012. As the only large screen provider in China mainland, IRTOUCH build a solid foundation for those customers who need large amounts of products.

IRTOUCH has the world leading infrared and optical touch technologies, provides high quality human-machine interactive touch solutions with rapid respond speed, high stability, long lifetime, free of maintenance and free of drift. IRTOUCH also provides different models for various industries to fit the different requirements. IRTOUCH's products have been globally used in education, finance, transportation, retail, entertainment, telecom, healthcare, public information and broadcasting industries and received high recognition by users.

Source: http://www.digitimes.com

Touch Screen Technology Research To Become More Genius

The touch screen interface on a device typically used to respond to taps and also a touch of the two-dimensional, but sheering forces across the display, could open up a new paradigm of tablet and phone control, research has suggested. Rather than conjuring up pop-up toolbars and other screen-dominating UI elements, a press-and-pull gesture could be used to cycle through options, select different colored pens or drawing tools, or perform speedy copy & paste.

The project, handiwork of Chris Harrison and Scott Hudson of Carnegie Mellon University, describes “Using Shear as a Supplemental Input Channel for Rich Touchscreen Interaction.” Their prototype uses a moving panel on top of a touchscreen tablet device, which can be pulled in multiple directions if the user presses down and drags their finger across it. That, it’s argued, introduces a whole new input method that next-gen platforms could take advantage of.

“Touch input is constrained, typically only providing finger X/Y coordinates. To access and switch between different functions, valuable screen real estate must be allocated to buttons and menus, or users must perform special actions, such as touch-and-hold, double tap, or multi-finger chords. Even still, this only adds a few bits of additional information, leaving touch interaction unwieldy for many tasks. In this work, we suggest using a largely unutilized touch input dimension: shear (force tangential to a screen’s surface). Similar to pressure, shear can be used in concert with conventional finger positional input. However, unlike pressure, shear provides a rich, analog 2D input space, which has many powerful uses” Harrison and Hudson

So, in the researchers’ demo apps, by using sheering forces in one of several directions, different options can be selected; a touch and sheer-up gesture can copy text, with a touch and sheer-down then pasting it. A prototype music player controls play/pause and track skip with sheering movements, while circular sheer-dragging motions can be used for scrolling or zooming.

One obvious practical issue is the nature of the hardware: the current prototype, for instance, requires a screen which can move on top of the device itself. However, some touchscreen manufacturers – such as Neonode - are already working on sensors which can pinpoint not only points of touch but angle of touch, pressure and more. That would presumably support the researchers’ sheer system, without requiring an awkward panel on top.

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Touche: Smart Touch Sensing Technology Developed

Just about everybody in the United States is familiar with capacitive touchscreens, but not with how they work. A small electric voltage is applied to the screen, and when you touch it (or nearly touch it) the voltage changes.

This is because the capacitance of the system changes, because of your presence. Normally this technology in a binary fashion, where just one frequency is monitored, and if it changes enough, a touch is recognized.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research, Pittsburgh have expanded on this technology by making a touch system that monitors multiple frequencies, and therefore multiple kinds of touches.

By monitoring multiple frequencies, the Touché system is able to distinguish between touch events with different number of fingers, or different parts of the body. In one of the demos for the system, a table was setup to track whether someone had their hands on it, their elbows, and even if someone was sitting near it, without touching the table. To achieve this, the system has to process a lot of data, which is now possible thanks to the ever smaller processors being developed for mobile and embedded technologies.

It may still be awhile before we get smart doorknobs, which recognize different grasps, but the technology is almost completely accurate right now, so the wait may not be long. Of course, it will likely be smartphones where this first becomes relevant as a way to control the device while it is still in your pocket.


Source: http://www.overclockersclub.com

M-CHAT: Phreesia Digital Checklist for Autism With Touchscreen Interface

Phreesia is a leader in patient check-in, with a network of thousands of clinicians nationwide. Phreesia’s touchscreen interface makes clinicians to do what they do best.

As part of its digital check-in process, Phreesia offers an electronic version of the nationally recognized Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), a screening tool to assess risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in toddlers aged 16 to 30 months old. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all children receive autism-specific screening at 18 and 24 months of age, in addition to broad developmental screening at 9, 18 and 24 months.

With diminishing reimbursements and rising practice costs, it is increasingly difficult for clinicians to administer clinical risk assessments to patients.  Phreesia’s comprehensive check-in solution eliminates the time-consuming administrative work from the screening process, allowing clinicians to screen more patients and effortlessly identify those who require further diagnostic evaluation. 

Since November 2010, Phreesia has screened thousands of children for ASD and has identified over 26 percent who required further evaluation.  By administering the M-CHAT electronically with Phreesia, medical practices save hours of staff time previously spent managing paper forms and scoring results, enabling them to spend more time focusing on patient care and engaging with patients in the exam room.

Says Rondie Ervin, MD, of Victory Pediatrics in Covington, Ga., “Phreesia has made the standardized developmental screening process incredibly easy for us.  We had been administering the M-CHAT on paper, which is a very cumbersome process.  With Phreesia, we’ve been able to go paperless and it automatically scores the results, which we can then upload into our system.  This saves us about 20 minutes of work per patient, and I feel confident that we are screening our patients appropriately and giving them the level of care that they need.”

Used by thousands of medical practices nationwide, Phreesia is the leader in patient check-in.  Phreesia digitizes the check-in process with an electronic, touchscreen PhreesiaPad, which patients use to enter their demographic, insurance and clinical information, as well as to pay their copayments and balances.  In addition to streamlining the check-in process, Phreesia also enhances clinical care, in part through offering a wide array of health risk assessments and other quality of care initiatives.

Says Phreesia CEO Chaim Indig, “Phreesia is proud to support pediatricians in screening their patients for ASD.  We recognize that with growing costs, it is difficult for many clinicians to administer the M-CHAT to their patients, and our technology makes it easy for them to screen all of their patients properly, while minimizing administrative costs.  Together, we can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care, and help growing numbers of children get the appropriate early intervention services they need.”

Source: http://www.phreesia.com/

Zytronic's touch sensors and Omnitapps for touch digital signage and kiosks

Touch-sensor specialist Zytronic partners with Omnivision, that it is working to further the widespread uptake of its Projected Capacitive Technology touch sensor portfolio with  software supplier Omnivision. As a result, the Omnitapps platform from Omnivision is now fully compatible with Zytronic's dual-touch capable range of PCT touch sensors.

Working in conjunction with Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, Omnitapps is a customizable application software package that has the capacity to support multi-touch operation on large-form-factor displays. It consists of an array of different professional applications that, when combined with Zytronic's touch sensors and ZXY100 touch controllers, make it highly suited to user interface implementations in a variety of different sectors, according to the announcement.

Omnitapps can distinguish between intuitive gestures, including slide, zoom, swipe and rotate, as well as supporting English, German, Spanish and French keyboard options. Through this platform's multitouch functionality, deployers can impart valuable information to prospective customers or members of the public, as well as deliver interactive vending and advanced multiplayer gaming functions.

Its MediaWall function allows users to access social media sites such as Facebook and Linkedin, as well as viewing Flash-based websites, like YouTube. It also offers the provision for placing markers onto Google Maps (for adding useful information), or drawing onto displayed PDFs, videos, pictures and website content. In addition, it can show multiple websites simultaneously through a split-screen feature.

Zytronic's PCT-based touch sensors employ a proprietary sensing technology that consists of a matrix of micro-fine capacitive elements embedded within a laminated substrate, which can be located behind a protective overlay (more than 10 cm thick). Touchscreens based on this technology are resistant to the various forms of mechanical damage that can potentially shorten the lifespan of resistive or surface capacitive touch solutions — such as vibration, heavy impacts, scratches, build up of dirt, extreme temperatures, exposure to potent chemicals, high humidity levels, or liquid ingress — according to Zytronic. Furthermore, unlike infrared and surface acoustic wave touch sensor options, PCT can enable all glass, bezel-free designs, resulting in smooth-fronted user interfaces.

"Omnitapps can distinguish between each single touch placed on the screen and enhance the touch functionality offered by Windows 7 so that more sophisticated user manipulation is possible," Alexander Aelberts, CEO and founder of Omnivision, said in the announcement. "Support for PCT sensing brings a whole new dimension to this solution, expanding its scope of application."

A variety of different sectors are searching for a mature, commercially viable solution for implementing public information kiosks, interactive digital signage systems and point-of-sales units, Zytronic Sales and Marketing Director Ian Crosby said in the announcement.

Touch-screen manufacturers offer products that compete more interesting and certainly cheaper.

Combining a great innovation that eliminates the need for the front panel of the traditional design of a resistive touch screen. The new Elo TouchSystems AccuTouch resistive zero-bezel touch screens offers an attractive alternative to more costly touch screens using glass or capacitive technologies and allows for complete design flexibility.

The new AccuTouch resistive screens bring to life elegant touch solutions designed with style and affordability in mind. These new screens are based on field-proven and mature AccuTouch 5-wire resistive touch screen technology and come in multiple sizes as standard products or they can be customised.

According to Elo TouchSystems the product was developed for more design flexibility and to make integration into retail, hospitality, industrial and medical touch systems easier and more cost-effective. By eliminating the need for a front bezel, unique product designs are now possible, especially for human-machine interface (HMI) applications where a modern, elegant smartphone-like look and feel is desired. In addition, without a front bezel, it is now possible to achieve reduced costs and complexities in supply chain and integration processes.

Cost savings are possible as lamination of a decorative front foil is no longer needed, and with a scratch-resistant 4H hardness rating that surpasses most other resistive touch screens, the AccuTouch touch screens provide durable, reliable use over long periods of time. Standard Elo controller and chip solutions with Elo drivers are compatible with a wide variety of operating systems and work with the new AccuTouch touch screens to facilitate worry-free touch performance.

Ellen Liang, product manager for the AccuTouch product line said “The new zero-bezel AccuTouch family illustrates TE’s ongoing commitment to deliver innovative touch screen products.

As one of the first companies who introduced resistive touch screen technology, it remains one of our core products which we are continuously improving and refining to meet customer needs.”

NEC Touchscreen Tactile Feedback Prototype

The touch screen on the surface looks the same, flat, big, but don’t really offer much of a “touch” experience right now. Apart from tiny vibration motors that generate rudimentary haptic feedback, we’re still just poking and prodding thin slabs of glass.

NEC offers a new take on touchscreen tactile feedback and how to change that: a panel that actually moves.

The prototype they’ve built in conjunction with the Tokyo Institute of Technology is a tad on the bulky side right now, but it’s functional. Using a set of small motors and pulleys, the screen jitters back and forth in response to on-screen events — effectively pushing and pulling your finger while it remains in contact.

Clearly this type of setup isn’t as ideal for adding tactile feedback to a tablet or smartphone as something like Senseg Tixel, which creates friction feedback using an electrostatic field. It’s much less cumbersome and doesn’t introduce moving parts — parts which would no doubt add to a portable device’s battery woes.

Still, in certain settings the NEC prototype may actually work just fine. Kiosk computers or in-dash systems in vehicles, for example, might be a good fit. A touchscreen control panel that actually feels like you’re sliding a lever or spinning a knob with your finger sounds pretty useful.

One thing’s for certain: the day of high-latency touchscreens that offer no feedback whatsoever are numbered. With companies like Microsoft, Senseg, and NEC all plugging away at technologies that will improve touch interaction, the next couple of years should yield some very cool (and useful) new developments.