It’s old news by now, but capacitive touchscreens can be a pain to use because they can’t detect your fingertaps through a pair of gloves. But SMK has improved the design of their 6.5-inch panels so that devices like car navigation systems can still be operated if you’re driving with gloves on.
Instead of redesigning the displays from the ground up, the company added a new chip that improves detection sensitivity, while incorporating a new sensor panel that’s better suited to filtering out noises and unwanted inputs as a result. When used with a bare finger, the new technology also facilitates the addition of a protective panel over the display up to 1.5mm thick, making them better suited for use in public kiosks. And because most users will only need to operate a touchscreen with gloves on when it’s cold out, the panels will operate to temperatures as cold as minus 30 degrees celsius. Available up to eight inches in size, the new capacitive display technology will be first demonstrated at the Flat Panel Display show in Yokohama, Japan this week, with volume production starting soon thereafter. [TechOn! via Ubergizmo]