Ocular launches Atmel-powered Crystal Touch EDGE

Ocular LCD has added the Atmel-powered Crystal Touch EDGE to its touch panel lineup. Essentially, the EDGE is a single-layer, all-glass projected capacitive touch panel featuring a single FPC and Chip on Flex (COF) assembly.

The new panel boasts increased transmissivity due to a single-layer design, while an all-glass construction offers a scratch resistant surface that won’t deform with frequent use.

“Atmel is proud to foster continued product development leveraging maXTouch technologies to create thinner, functional touch solutions that are visually transparent, such as the Crystal Touch EDGE,” said Atmel exec Jon Kiachian. “Our collaboration with Ocular helps OEMs design natural interfaces that exceed user’s expectations.”

Ocular’s Paul Massey expressed similar sentiments.

“The release of the EDGE product is a significant step forward for Ocular. It was the continued support from Atmel and the efforts of our engineering team that created the ultra-thin, high performance sensor we wanted to bring to our customers,” he explained. 

”Applications that require a thinner stack-up, such as Point of Sale terminals and handheld inventory controls/scanners, will benefit from the Crystal Touch EDGE. The scratch-resistant surface and reduced thickness increases design flexibility and helps reduce the overall thickness of the device.”

According to Massey, the thickness of standard Crystal Touch PCAP panels has been reduced by over 30% to create the ultra-thin, Crystal Touch EDGE.

“Eliminating a layer of glass and optical adhesive gives standard Crystal Touch EDGE panels a thickness of 1.1mm and up to 1.5mm if cover glass is required,” he added.

Crystal Touch EDGE panels – currently available in sizes up to 4.8-inches – will be featured at SID Display Week (booth #721) in San Diego, June 3-5.

Interested in learning more? You can check out Ocular’s Crystal Touch EDGE product page here.

Atmel’s mXT1664S powers 18.5-inch PCAP touch panel

Display specialist Ginsbury has announced the addition of a new 18.5-inch projected capacitive (PCAP) touch panel from industrial touch panel supplier Ocular. The latest PCAP – powered by Atmel’s mXT1664S – is part of the latter’s Crystal Touch: TRUE Multi-Touch PLUS standard product lineup.

According to Ocular VP Paul Massey, Crystal Touch: TRUE Multi-Touch PLUS panels offer a multi-touch interface with a pre-integrated, optically bonded, soda-lime cover glass with a decorative black border.

“The additional layer of glass adds durability and is ready to be integrated into touch driven devices,” he explained. “Users also have the option of adding their logo, or product name, to the black border on the pre-bonded cover glass. Medical, Point-of-Sale (PoS) and many other industries will benefit from this new standard size offering.”

Powered by Atmel’s versatile MaXTouch  mXT1664S controller, the 18.5-inch PCAP touch panel allows for up to 16 simultaneous touches.

“The combination of Ocular’s Crystal Touch technology and Atmel’s maXTouch line of touchscreen controllers provide a robust and sophisticated touch solution that can identify and disregard unintentional touches,” Massey added. “Atmel’s maXTouch series is ideal for larger touch panels with key features that include unparalleled noise suppression, high responsiveness and precision which help provide an enhanced user experience.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, Atmel’s maXTouch mXT1664S capacitive touchscreen controller brings the S Series architecture to large touchscreen devices.

The mXT1664S benefits from the powerful 32-bit AVR core and, as a result of the S Series architecture, boasts the industry’s highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), providing unrivaled touch performance.

As with the other devices in the S Series, the mXT1664S includes:

• Atmel’s thinner sensors, which enable the thinnest touchscreen stacks with the noisiest displays.
• maXCharger Technology, which ensures flawless operation with any charger.

Simply put, the mXT1664S delivers industry-leading performance in terms of narrow stylus operation, touch responsiveness and low power consumption. With 1,664 nodes, the device is capable of delivering high-precision performance on tablets and notebooks, enabling designers to reach Windows 8 certification.

Atmel’s maXTouch S series heads outdoors with Ocular

Atmel’s maXTouch S is heading to the great outdoors with Ocular LCD’s PCAP touch panels. Designed specifically for outdoor and marine applications, these Crystal Touch panels are non-birefringent and immune to false touches caused by water spray and droplets.

Water droplets, especially saltwater, can cause false touches on projected capacitive touch panels, which may be dangerous in certain situations. However, Ocular’s rugged PCAP design, powered by Atmel’s maXTouch S technology, enables touch panels to identify and disregard unintended touches caused by water droplets and spray, all while maintaining accurate touch functionality.

It should probably be noted that birefringence is also an issue when it comes to using devices outdoors. Known as the “rainbow effect,” birefringence occurs most often with polarized sunglasses. As such, Ocular designs projected capacitive touch panels that are non-birefringent, enabling optimized optical qualities with polarized sunglasses or cover glass.

“Atmel’s maXTouch S series controllers deliver better linearity, increased signal-to-noise ratio and excellent noise immunity for Ocular’s PCAP line of touch panels,” said Jon Kiachian, vice president of touch marketing, Atmel Corporation. “Users experience better touch performance and responsiveness for Ocular’s large touchscreen displays for outdoor and marine applications.”

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, Atmel’s maXTouch S lineup features intelligent touch processing algorithms, noise suppression, high responsiveness, pinpoint precision and sensor hub technology that fuses together input from motion-processing sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers.

The technology can also be used to build a highly responsive, high-fidelity touch experience in mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and Windows 8 Ultrabooks – even in the most punishing noise environments.