What is the Best Touch Technology for Rugged or Outdoor Environments?

Are you engaged in a touch display to be used in a rugged or outdoor environment? Have you been wondering which touch technology is the best for your display?


Planar's Director of Engineering believes any of the all glass sensors, such as Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW), projected and surface capacitive can work in rugged, outdoor applications, but no single touch can do it all. High ambient sunlight conditions pose interference problems with IR matrix and IR camera scan systems.


SAW and surface capacitive have varying resistance to rain, dust, snow and flying insects. Glass-on-glass resistive has good immunity to the outdoor environment, but requires additional optical enhancements to compensate for unwanted ambient, outdoor, light reflections, which detract from the display's contrast.


Regardless of your project, the option to choose from multiple touch technologies will make the touch decision much easier. Visit Planar's how-to-buy website for information about purchsaing a customized touch display and look for how touch technology impacts the visual performance of a display in an upcoming post.

EL: Electroluminescent Glass - Versatile for Many Applications

Seems like lots of folks are catching on to the versatility of Electroluminescent glass for various types of applications. When your display project calls for a solution to a challenging and demanding application, the unique performance and visual characteristics of high-performance electroluminescent (EL) displays make it an ideal choice.

Recently, Inventables posted a blog about Electroluminescent glass. For use in military, medical or industrial applications, EL glass features a wide temperature range and reliability which are critical in these applications and others.

See Planar's 20 Reasons why Thin Film EL is your most reliable display choice for rugged viewing conditions and let us know if there are other reasons to add.

Social Networking for Display Engineering Professionals

With all sorts of social networking opportunities out there, it's great to see a site that is dedicated to display engineering professionals. Planar has created a LinkedIn page where display engineering types can connect and share ideas, throw out questions and post jobs or look for one in a variety of industries, applications and display technologies.

In today's world of ever-changing technology, connections and communications are tools that help keep the display industry moving forward. What social networking sites keep you connected?

Thin Flim Electroluminescent (TFEL) Display Technology

Have you been wondering how to reduce the cost of your display product and retain the outstanding design requirements provided by electronluminescent (EL) technology? Planar recently announced that our thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) module will be used by Jetronic Technology for the domestic China market, as well as in a product manufactured by a U.S. company specializing in public safety products.

TFEL is perfect for integrating into products where extreme temperature environments and demanding ergonomic conditions are required. The TFEL display modules have been used in a variety of products and industrial display applications, including communication, petro-chemical and test and measurement equipment.

Request Planar's TFEL Display Design Guide for more information about TFEL display design examples.

Whitepaper Collection

We've been busy adding to our whitepaper collection. You can find technology overviews and applications notes, all available for download as PDFs. The latest additions to the collection include:

Reexamining the Potential of Infrared (IR) Touchscreens

This paper examines the choices that are available to the product designer and integrator, and provides information to assist in the selection of the most appropriate touch technology option.

Compare/Contrast of Thin Film EL to EL Backlighting, LED, and OLED Technologies

This paper provides an understanding of the differences among electroluminescent devices.

Interface Solutions for Planar's EL Displays

This Application Note describes the options and considerations for interfacing with Planar’s entire family of electroluminescent displays.

The Keys To Effective Kiosk Design

Some of the members of our engineering team can write as well as build displays. Check out this article by John Jedrzejewski, Neil Brashnyk, and Scott Vahlsing about the issues and considerations of kiosk design. The article appeared in ProAV last year but it has a lot of useful information on testing, maintenance and cooling issues.