TouchNetix just brought capacitive touch to metallic surfaces, and added new functionality!
It’s been a while since ipXchange caught up with HMI innovators TouchNetix, so we were pleased to chat with Iyad at Embedded World 2024 about the new TactoSense firmware for force sensing and touch sensing in button-type HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces).
As Iyad shows us, TouchNetix’s aXiom chip and force-sensing hardware – as used in its touchscreen solutions –can use TactoSense to provide users with a three-tier interaction model when using the HMI. These interactions can be broken down as follows:
- Hover and proximity-based interaction/feedback
- Full-contact touch interaction/feedback
- Pressure-based activation of functions
On top of this, the aXiom chip can be used to provide haptic feedback so that users can feel when they have ‘pressed’ the button, with support for multi-touch interaction.
By shifting away from mechanical buttons, this removes reliability concerns in punishing industrial environments and enables easy cleaning in medical settings where preventing the spread of contagions is a requirement. The aXiom chips are also fully qualified for automotive use.
Most impressive of all, TactoSense enables reliable capacitive touch interaction on metallic surfaces, something that has been previously impossible due to the physics of implementation.
TactoSense is not just limited to button-type applications, it can do joysticks, sliders, and anything else based on touch or pressure, so apply to evaluate this technology today by following the link to the board form below.
Keep designing!
Looking for other interesting HMI solutions? Check out these interviews from CES 2024:
3D in-cabin monitoring with a 2D camera!