Touchscreens
Dispersive Signal Technology senses vibrations made to the screen substrate rather than through the interruption of electrical fields, acoustic waves, or infrared light as in traditional touch screen technologies
New TouchScreen Technology
June 2004
By Adam Gosling
3M Touch Systems has announced a new system that recognises touch using a new approach -- Dispersive Signal Technology.
The Dispersive Signal Technology senses vibrations made to the screen substrate rather than through the interruption of electrical fields, acoustic waves, or infrared light as in traditional touch screen technologies.
The advantage of the new system is that it helps eliminate issues with screen contaminants and surface scratches. It also allows for a touch to be registered even if the user has their palm or other object resting on the screen surface.
Each touch creates a vibration, which radiates a bending wave through the substrate from the point of contact spreading out to the edges. Sensors in each corner measure the vibrational energy and, through advanced digital signal processing, dispersion adjustment algorithms are applied to analyse the signals and report an accurate touch.
"We believe the 3M products that evolve from this patented technological advancement will be of great benefit to our customer base," said Terry Jones, general manager, 3M Touch Systems. "We are proud of our ability to bring a new technology to an arena that has not experienced this type of innovative milestone in a long time. We are just beginning to explore the potential."
The company believes the Dispersive Signal Technology could change the landscape of the touch business as it incorporates the primary features offered by several touch technologies today. These include exceptional light transmission, stylus support, accuracy, signature capture and all-glass durability.
Digital Connect News - PC Monitors
Posted by Craig at June 10, 2004 07:45 PM