Aims of this presentation

• To show where touch is used

• To explain why there are so many different ways to do the same thing

• To give an understanding of the major touch technologies that exist in products today

• To understand the pros and cons of each technology

• To show how the Baanto™ ShadowSense™ technology compares against each technology in turn.

Why do we use touch?

Simply put, it makes life easier by implementing a simple interface to complex machines across many applications

and markets

Why do we use touch?

• A touchscreen is simply a piece of hardware used to emulate a mouse when running applications

• But a touchscreen offers a much better interface to the public than the mouse and keyboard

• It’s;– More intuitive in use

– Faster to use

– Rugged

– Does not need an outside light source

– Harder to steal than keyboard and mouse

– Simply looks better

Why do we use touch?

They are everywhere!

So what is a touchscreen?A touchscreen tends to be an overlay placed in front of a display, made of glass or certain types of plastic, which, in a variety of ways, can convert a pointing device (e.g. a finger) into X and Y co-ordinates for mouse emulation that can be used by a computer program to achieve a desired goal.

A touchscreen cannot do this alone. It needs a controller to convert the touch generated signals into a form that can be sent to a computer and traditionally, some software to do something useful with these signals.

So what is a touchscreen?With the Baanto™ mid-sized ShadowSense™ technology, a production kit consists of a touch frame, cables and a controller.

What you don’t get is any software; including calibration software as ShadowSense™ just doesn't need it!

ShadowSense™ is designed to work with Win XP, Win XPe, Vista, Win 7, Win 8, Linux and Mac OS ‘out of the box’

Baanto’s ShadowSense™ works simply by plugging the USB cable into your computer –that’s all.

History of touch technologies

• Touch was invented in the late 60’s by E.A. Johnson at the Royal Radar Establishment, Malvern, UK

• First real use was developed by Doctor Sam Hurst founder of Elographics (now EloTouch) while he was an instructor at the University of Kentucky.

• Lots of changes since then

• Today, there are around 25 fundamentally different touch technologies that exist worldwide (this number is growing all the time), however only a few are commercially useful

• In mainstream applications around 5 different types are used in large volumes

Why so many technologies?

Why are there so many different technologies to do such a simple thing? Quite simply, no touch technology is perfect for all users;They all have pros and cons!

• It is choosing the right screen for the right environment that makes the difference between a successful project and a failed project

• This is why many suppliers have to offer several different types of screens to their customers as they don’t have ShadowSense™

• YOU must understand the strengths AND the weaknesses of each technology to be able to explain it to your customer

• If you don’t tell them up front what these are, others will!

Why so many technologies?

All touchscreens work well on your desk. Its as you move away from this and into the real world that you start to see environmental and usability issues come to light

Key considerations:• Who will be touching the screen? (employee or public-access)• How will they touch it? (finger, pen, bankcard, glove, etc.)• How secure is the environment? (potential for vandalism)• How long will the screen be in service? (lifetime, stability)• How important is optical performance? (desired clarity and

brightness)• What are the ambient lighting conditions? (do you need to

avoiding glare, reflections and sunlight’s effect on the touchscreen operation)?

• How exposed is the screen to weather and temperature change? Is it waterproof?

So what's out there?

Baanto’s ShadowSense™ is not a revamp of an existing technology. It is unique in both ethos and operation hence the fact that we have been granted patents on the technology with several more in the pipe line.

The other Major Technologies are;

• Resistive (4/7/8 and 5/6 wire)

• Surface Acoustic Wave

• Infra Red (Beam Break Technology)

• Surface Capacitive

• Projective Capacitive

Resistive

Resistive

Basically the first to be invented (some dispute this with IR) at the beginning of the 1970,s

Resistive screens come in several flavours

4 wire, 5 wire, 6 wire, 7 wire and 8 wire

Although they do the same basic job, they have very different properties and the extra wires are there to correct issues with the technology

Resistive screen construction

• Normally, consists of a glass sheet with a conductive surface usually ITO (Indium Tin Oxide)

On top of this is a plastic sheet with the inside surface again coated with ITO.

Keeping the two surfaces apart are rows and columns of ‘spacer dots’

The voltage generated by the touch is sent to a controller which sends the result to the computer

So what sort of Resistive screen do I have?

With so many different resistive types, a common question is ‘what kind do I have’?

Simple answer; count the lines in the tail that go to the controller connector

4 wire Touchscreen

8 wire Touchscreen

Resistive traits (Generic)

Pros Resistive Cons Resistive

Can be sealed to IP65 Reduces light transmission by 20% (more for 6 wire)

Works when wet Not vandal proof - easy to damage

Stable Calibration Linearity of 4 wire degrades with time (short time)

Reasonably simple to integrate Original patent expired allowing cheaper, poorer quality product to come in from the far east

Fast touch/drag response Many controller manufactures – not all good

Works with any pointer Software from many sources not all reliable

High resolution allows for signatures

Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW)

SAWSound wave is deflected across the screen. Touch pointer (finger) absorbs some of this energy which is detected by the controller

X Transmit ~ 5 µsec 5.53 MHz tone burst from controller

X Receive ~ 200 µsec echo signal to controller’s receive circuitry

Reflector Arrays

Active Area

Absorption tape

Y Receive

Y Transmit

Generic Surface Acoustic Wave Operation

• Reflectors printed on glass

• Specific pattern differs with size and type glass

• Reflection from each stripe is about 1%

• Progressively less energy as wave travels across the glass, so reflector spacing designed to equalize reflected energy across entire touchscreen (logarithmic)

SAW

SAW

Burst of energy sent to the transducers, the transducers convert the energy to vibration energy which is deflected across the screen by the reflectors. Energy absorbing pointer removes some of the received signal allowing detection.

Amplitude

Response

Time

Threshold

Touch Effect

WidthChecked

Z ratio

Time proportional to distance

TransmitBurst

SAW TraitsPros SAW Cons SAW

Clear glass (92% light through put) Hard to seal; needs special material called volara tape or special rubber

Touch operation Impervious to scratches Cannot be sealed to IP65 reliably

Reasonably fast touch response Stops working when wet

Works with gloved hands Complex to integrate for the first time users

Only works with a soft pointer (no stylus, fingernails, pens or credit cards)

Not good at finger dragging or signature writing

Original patent expired allowing cheaper, poorer quality product to come in from the far east

Infrared (Beam Break Technology)

Infrared (Beam Break Technology)• The touch frame or opto-matrix

contains a row of IR-light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a row of photo transistors (receivers), mounted on opposite sides to create and detect a grid of invisible infrared light.

• When a stylus, such as a finger, enters the grid, it obstructs the beams.

• One or more photo transistors detects the absence of light and transmits a signal that identifies the x and y coordinates.

Transmit Photodiodes

Receive Phototransistors

Transmit

Receive

Infrared (Beam Break Technology)

Pros IR (Beam Break) Cons IR (Beam Break)

Clear glass (92% light through put) Lower resolution than other technologies

Touch operation Impervious to scratches Can be effected by Sunlight

Calibration setup never drifts after set up ‘Fly on screen’ false touches

Low touch force sensitivity (hover) Original patent expired allowing cheaper, poorer quality product to come in from the far east

Reasonably fast touch response

Works with almost any pointer if large enough to block the light

Capacitive (Surface)

Capacitive (Surface)

• Its like a Resistive screen without the top plastic cover

• A hard coating is applied over the conductive ITO layer to help protect it from scratches

Capacitive (Surface)

Pros Surface Capacitive Cons Surface Capacitive

Easy to integrate Can be effected by rain water (these days this is acidic)

Impervious to ‘water’ (tap or river water) Can be relatively easily scratched destroying linearity

Fast touch and drag response Calibration can be affected by a number of mechanisms

Original patent expired allowing cheaper, poorer quality product to come in from the far east

Needs a conductive pointer (no pens, credit cards etc.)

Projective Capacitive (wire)

Projective Capacitive (wire)

• Screen is made up of several layers

• Older screens had controller mounted on the glass

• Embedded wires have a set frequency passed through them which generates a field around the wire.

• When an object enters the field, it changes this frequency which in turn is transmitted to the computer where the application detects the change and works out where the touch point is.

Projective Capacitive (wire)

The advantage that this technology offers is the ability to work through several mm’s of non conductive material such as a shop window.

This gives all sorts of possibilities for vandal and weather proof outdoor kiosks

Projective Capacitive (wire)

Pros Projective Capacitive Cons Projective Capacitive

Works through gloves Can be very slow to respond

Works through non conductive material up to 25mm (it’s main reason for existence)

Can be affected by electromagnetic interference from LCD’s and neon lights and others

Due to use of sacrificial glass in front of the touch technology, can be very robust

Complex to integrate and set up

Does not work through any metallised coatings (such as heat reflective glass)

Active area must be kept at least 2mm away from metal (Active area is the whole surface of the sensor)

Can go out of calibration due to may different environmental conditions.

Baanto’s ShadowSense™ v The Rest

The following slides show how Baanto’s patented ShadowSense™ technology compares against the other major single

Touch technologies

on the market today

Resistive Pros v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has most of the Pros of Resistive

Pros Resistive ShadowSense™

Can be sealed to IP65 Can be sealed to IP65

Works when wet Works when wet

Stable Calibration Stable calibration for the life of the product

Reasonably simple to integrate Simple to integrate on Open frame chassis

Fast touch/drag response Fast touch/drag response

Works with any pointer Works with any pointer

High resolution allows for signatures High resolution allows for signatures

Resistive Cons v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has none of the Cons of Resistive

Cons Resistive ShadowSense™

Reduces light transmission by 20% (more for 6 wire)

Excellent light transmission 92% or more

Not vandal proof - easy to damage Highly robust

Linearity of 4 wire degrades with time (short time)

Stable for the life of the product

Original patent expired allowing cheaper, poorer quality product to come in from the far east

Unique NEW technology with newly granted patent protection

Many controller manufactures – not all good All hardware design and controlled in house by Baanto

Software from many sources not all reliable No software needed, controller firmware designed and controlled in house by Baanto

SAW Pros v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has all the Pros of SAW

Pros SAW ShadowSense™

Clear glass (92% light through put) Excellent light transmission 92% or more

Touch operation Impervious to scratches Highly robust

Reasonably fast touch response Fast 6ms to 8ms response time

Works with gloved hands Works with many pointing devices including gloves

SAW Cons v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has almost none of the Cons of SAW

Cons SAW ShadowSense™

Hard to seal; needs special material called volara tape or special rubber

Simple to seal

Cannot be sealed to IP65 reliably Comes sealed to IP65

Stops working when wet No problem working when wet

Complex to integrate for the first time users Simple to integrate on Open frame chassis

Only works with a soft pointer (no stylus, fingernails, pens or credit cards)

Works with any pointer including soft and hard ones

Not good at finger dragging Fast reliable drag response

Original patent expired allowing cheaper, poorer quality product to come in from the far east

Unique NEW technology with newly granted patent protection

IR (Beam Break) Pros v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has all the Pros of IR (Beam Break)

Pros IR (Beam Break) ShadowSense™

Clear glass (92% light through put) Excellent light transmission 92% or more

Touch operation Impervious to scratches Highly robust

Calibration setup never drifts after set up Stable for the life of the product

Low touch force sensitivity (hover) Low touch force that is adjustable

Reasonably fast touch response Fast 6ms to 8ms response time

Works with almost any pointer if large enough to block the light

Works with almost any pointer

IR (Beam Break) Cons v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has none of the Cons of IR (Beam Break)

Cons IR (Beam Break) ShadowSense™

Lower resolution than other technologies Resolution matches Resistive technology

Can be effected by Sunlight Only one side with sensors so affected less than IR (Beam Break) with other safeguards to allow working in bright sunlight

‘Fly on screen’ false touches Size of touching object can be ‘gated’ to only allow touch of a certain size

Original patent expired allowing cheaper, poorer quality product to come in from the far east

Unique NEW technology with newly granted patent protection

Capacitive (Surface) Pros v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has most of the Pros of Surface Capacitive

Pros Surface Capacitive ShadowSense™

Easy to integrate Simple to integrate on Open frame chassis

Impervious to ‘water’ can have problems with rain

No problem working when wet

Fast touch and drag response Fast 6ms to 8ms response time

Capacitive (Surface) Cons v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has none of the Cons of Surface Capacitive

Cons Surface Capacitive ShadowSense™

Can be effected by rain water (acidic) No problem working when wet or with rain

Can be relatively easily scratched destroying linearity

Highly robust

Calibration can be affected by a number of mechanisms

No User calibration to perform. No drift for the life of the product

Original patent expired allowing cheaper, poorer quality product to come in from the far east

Unique NEW technology with newly granted patent protection

Needs a conductive pointer (no pens, credit cards etc.)

Works with any pointing devices including gloves, pens, credit cards paint brushes etc.

Pro. Capacitive (Wire) Pros v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has almost all the Pros of Projective Capacitive

Pros Projective Capacitive (wire) ShadowSense™

Works through gloves Works with almost any pointer

Works through non conductive material up to 25mm (it’s main reason for existence)

ShadowSense™ will not work through extra layers of glass

Due to use of sacrificial glass in front of the touch technology, can be very robust

Highly robust

Pro. Capacitive (Wire) Cons v ShadowSense™

ShadowSense™ has almost none of the Cons of Projective Capacitive

Cons Projective Capacitive ShadowSense™

Can be very slow to respond Fast 6ms to 8ms response time

Can be affected by electromagnetic interference from LCD’s and neon lights and other external sources

Not affected my external electrical interference

Complex to integrate and set up Simple to integrate on Open frame chassis

Does not work through any metallised coatings (such as heat reflective glass)

Will work with many different glass types

Active area must be kept at least 2mm away from metal (Active area is the whole surface of the sensor)

No Issue with Metal

Can go out of calibration due to may different environmental conditions.

No User calibration to perform for the life of the product

Summary

• There are number of ways to do the same thing• For a technology to succeed, it must be able to do ‘something’ the

others can’t (price, technical advantage, wider application range)• You must know your pros and cons of each technology• Must know the markets you attack• Whatever makes your product easier to use…… DO IT• Supply as much information as you can (drawings, data sheets, etc.).

Remember a happy customer never needs to talk to you!• Customers know what they want (mostly), Listen• You only get one chance! • Quality/Reliability is important

• Keep in mind, no one (yet) has the touch Holy Grail But the Baanto’s ShadowSense™ does bridge a wide variety of markets as a single touch solution

• and also has multitouch capabilities….