Good news, cold-climate dwellers: There is a new company entering the glove-friendly capacitive touchscreen arena. SMK, maker of telecom and electronic components has recently announced a new 6.5-inch touchscreen that can recogni e input from a gloved finger. While this tech is nothing new, SMK has decided to target in-dash car navigation for vehicles as its target market rather than mobile devices. A smart move as the competition is heating up in the mobile market with companies like Synaptics working hard to bring an affordable option to manufacturers for mass consumption.
Using a newly designed chip, SMK has increased the sensitivity of its panel by reducing its noise-to-signal ratio, and increasing the threshold to prevent malfunctions and accidental screen touches. As a result, the capacitive panel is able to understand touches from fingers or hands that are covered, making it perfect for owners of vehicles with in-dash entertainment and navigation systems. Consumers who live in cold climates would be able to keep their hands warm while they get directions to the closest Starbucks with this type of screen.
While it is dipping its feet in the vehicle waters, SMK says that its newest screen offering can be scaled up to 8 inches, so it is not inconceivable that the tablet computing market could be a target in the future. It certainly would be appealing to outdoor workers that need to interact with screens in the cold weather.
Yet another potential market are companies with clean rooms that require employees to be wearing gloves at all times. Installing these panels in all of the equipment in a lab would certainly help productivity for buyers and boost SMK’s bottom line.
Capacitive touchscreen works with gloved fingers
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