BOSTON, US - Leading TSC vendors Atmel, Cypress and Synaptics have developed bespoke noise reduction techniques which are enabling new display implementations able to accommodate multi-finger touches and 3D gestures, including touch detection through gloves, hovering, tracking wet or sweaty fingers accurately across the screen as well as providing fine-tip stylus support.
The recently released Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies (HCT) service report, "Touchscreen Controllers: Enabling New Features and Advanced Capabilities in Smartphone Designs" explains that smartphone vendors faced with cut-throat competition and a need to differentiate their products, are introducing larger and more sophisticated screens with new and advanced touch capabilities. This is placing an increasing burden on touchscreen controller (TSC) suppliers, who must design their products to meet ever more stringent technical specifications.
Altering the physical and electrical properties of touchscreens and accommodating advanced new features means that state-of-the-art TSCs increasingly need to have faster scanning and higher data processing capabilities, more sophisticated power management to minimize power consumption and, in particular, much improved signal-to-noise ratios.
Stuart Robinson, Director of Handset Component Technologies research notes "The latest touchscreens are able to accommodate multi-finger touches and 3D gestures, including touch detection through gloves, hovering, tracking wet or sweaty fingers accurately across the screen as well as providing fine-tip stylus support. TSCs now use advanced algorithms to detect these very small signals whilst rejecting the larger, unwanted signals from the user's hand, from power supplies and other noise sources."
Stephen Entwistle of the Strategic Technologies Practice added "The display, particularly an LCD display, is a major source of noise, and the introduction of new integrated sensor/display designs exacerbates this problem. Leading TSC vendors such as Atmel, Cypress and Synaptics have developed bespoke noise reduction techniques which are enabling new display implementations such as display-integrated in-cell and on-cell touch systems and even single-layer in-cell sensor designs".
