Touch Technology and Visual Performance

When utilizing touch technology in your display project, do you struggle with achieving optimum visual performance? Regardless of which touch sensor you use with your transparent window of either glass or plastic mounted above the display face, unwanted light reflections are introduced and can impact the visual performance of your content.

For indoor use, Infrared (IR) matrix and IR camera based systems do not require a transparent window and don't degrade the display luminance and contrast. This solution is acceptable for indoor environments for single users, but not public venues where high use and potential vandalism can occur or for outdoor environments.

Methods of optically coupling the touch window to the display or special films and coatings can be effective solutions when sunlight readable viewing is required. Typically optical bonding is reserved for those applications where high value hardware can absorbe any additional cost.

Visit Planar to learn more about touch display technology in our eBook, Touch Display Sensors and visit us for a quote for your touchscreen application. Look for information about touchscreen drivers in an upcoming post.

Electroluminescent Displays Used at NASA

If your display project requires high brightness and contrast, a wide temperature range, along with reliability and long operating life, you might want to take a look at Planar's electroluminescent (EL) displays. Over the years significant improvements have been made to brightness and contrast, reduction of power consumption, development of proprietary gray-scale algorithms and packaging improvements to reduce size and enhance shock and vibration resistance for these extremely rugged and durable displays.

Among applications used by EL displays, NASA depends on electroluminescent displays in their mission control center. When viewing critical data during space missions, NASA managers depend on the unparralleled image quality offered in the EL display. Information gathered by technicians during missions provide opportunities for the scientific community to conduct experiments during space exploration and upon return to earth.

For more information about El displays, check out Planar's electroluminescent technology overview or the FAQ.

A Touch Technology For Every Application

The popularity of touchscreen technology is growing immensely. You can find touchscreens available in grocery store self checkouts, movie rental kiosks and at airport check-in kiosks around the world. So, how do you decide which touch technology will work best for your specific application?

Just like displays, there are a variety of technologies that are best suited for the specific application, use and environment. Life cycle costs play a major role in choosing a touchscreen.

Resistive touch still dominates the marketplace, capturing approximately one-half of the touch market. Its low cost, stylus independence and technology maturity make for a difficult combination for other touch technologies to compete against.

In the small screen size (less than 4"), the projective capacitive touch sensor has made a strong entry into the market, resulting from Apple's iPhone introduction. It has spurred additional development with glass on glass resistive touch screens.

Large screen sizes (larger than 32") are being supplied with IR camera systems, which are relatively inexpensive and easily scalable.

Traditional surface capacitive, matrix IR and surface acoustic wave touch technologies dominate the mid-size (6" to 26"). Again, use, environment and cost play important roles in choosing the optimum technology.

With the myriad of choices in touch technology available for today's applications, which one suits your display function needs best? Look for the best touch technology for a rugged or outdoor environment in an upcomming post.

The Future of Transparent Displays

Transparent displays are making their way to all sorts of consumer applications. At the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, an array of the latest technology is on display. One of the new, cool laptops being featured is Samsung's prototype of its 14-inch transparent OLED display.



There is definitely a wow factor to this laptop and one that consumers may be clamoring for in the near future.

Other applications where transparent displays are being used have been on the radar for some time. Take a look at Planar's use of transparent display technology and learn about the benefits of its easy customization or watch the video.



Do you have an application you would like to see on a transparent display?

Display Technology 101 Guides

Looking for a source that will provide guides to your display technology questions? Look no further than Planar's new Display Technology 101 Guide page. Questions from How to design an EL display to an Interactive Guide to Selecting an LCD display are all covered here, along with lots more information. We've even posted some Ebooks for a quick read to answer your questions about display technology. Check out the informational videos on our YouTube page, as well. We've got you covered with a host of informative resources!

Whether you're starting, in the middle or just plain stuck in your display process, what other guides would be helpful to answer your questions for a successful product?

Show Us Your Display Engineering Skills

We are growing and currently looking for an Applications Engineer to add to our team.Interesterested or know someone who might be a fit? Contact Bill Hanrahan.

The Applications Engineer (AE) is responsible for teaming with Planar’s Regional Sales Managers and Program Managers to assist customers with the development and implementation of industry leading display solutions. AE’s serve as the primary technical contact to customers for pre- and post-sales technical support. The AE will interact directly with customer’s engineering teams to drive technical discussions about Planar’s existing and potential display platforms. Additionally, the AE will be responsible for providing feedback and following up on technical issues with the Product Management team.





Essential Functions:

• Provide product presentations and technical qualification of sales opportunities for the Sales Team.
• Provide pre and post-sale integration and application development support to new and existing customer base. Manage the escalation and resolution of customer technical problems partnering with Customer Service as necessary.
• Partner with the Industrial Business Sales Account team to initiate technical discussions with various present and potential customers.
• Make presentations and perform product demonstrations to the customer’s technical decision-makers and assist the Sales team and Manager on sales calls when required.
• Advocate customer needs to the Product Management team.
• Create technical documents in support of sales process.
• Assist the Regional Sales Managers with proposal creation and technical order review.
• Provide technical feedback on enhancements and changes to existing and development products.
• Advise management on issues arising from product development problems identified through communications with the customer.
• Provide preparation and coordination of HW and SW products for use in both short- and long-term customer demonstrations.
• Support marketing activities including trade shows, technical articles, as required.
• Support engineering activities including among others product roll-outs and technical publication review in support of business objectives.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of three years of experience generating best in class results in product design, project management or sales engineering, with customer facing responsibility, required.
• Prior experience in the display industry is strongly preferred however systems level experience with video interface and network design is acceptable.
• Prior knowledge of active matrix LCD, passive LCD, Organic LED, Electroluminescence, or vacuum florescent display technologies preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required. Preference for a focus in Engineering or related technical field.
• Proven ability to multitask and be effective in a chaotic environment is essential.
• Good working knowledge of PCs and electronic imaging or graphics, with particular emphasis placed upon knowledge of video controllers, operating systems, device drivers and global safety agency approval standards and processes required for system level products.
• Conversant in system integration issues, connectivity technologies and architectures a plus.
• Demonstrated experience in the creation of specifications for technical and non-technical customers.
• Alignment with customer-intimate philosophy; highly developed team-oriented business partner skills.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation communications skills required.

Other:

• Travel as required, at least 50% of the time.

Planar Systems is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace.

Contact Bill Hanrahan for more details.

Transparent Multi-touch

This isn't a result of our new transparent EL technology, but it is interesting. Microsoft Research has developed LucidTouch, a concept product with the touch screen on the back of the panel. Read more about the technology at NewScientistTech.

Transparent Display Technology

We just released our newest display technology called TASEL (Transparent and Segemented Electroluminescent). We've kept all the great qualities of electroluminescent displays, but with an interesting new twist. The display can now be transparent, mirrored, as well as cut or molded into unique shapes. See the Transparent press release, product page or FAQ. Here's an example of a TASEL display that has bent into shape. Try that with an LCD.