FEATURE SWITCHES & RELAYS
Live broadcast at the touch of a button
prototype touchscreens and ultimately fully functional preproduction units of both the GUI and T-Bar products. Capacitive touchscreen technology and capacitive switching combined with selective thin film backlighting from Stadium-IGT offers users numerous advantages over other forms of HMI including increased security. The touchscreen will work behind a protective overlay layer up to 20mm thick. When mounted to the rear face of a
Terry Moss, Sales & Marketing Director at Stadium-IGT, discusses how the company is utilising its custom designed LED backlit touchscreen technology, featuring capacitive switching to develop a bespoke capacitive touch screen for outside broadcast vehicles
C
apacitive touchscreens have many advantages in both consumer and
industrial MMI/HMI interfaces and are widely used in applications including mobile phones, MP3 players, PDAS, home entertainment, home automation systems and brown and white goods. Their use in industrial applications has
been limited until now due to small screen size, low screen resolution and a lack of visual clarity imposed by the commonly used wire matrix technology. Using its extensive experience to overcome the limitations of this traditional approach, Stadium-IGT has developed capacitive touchscreens in custom sizes up to 19", with a node count up to 256 (16 by 16) and bespoke interfaces to suit host equipment. The company’s most recent
development combines, in one thin layer, capacitive switching and multi-colour area-specific backlighting. Traditionally, it has been extremely difficult to combine the two technologies because the electric field from a conventional electro-luminescent light source, which requires high voltage excitation, has interfered with the capacitive operation. The company has overcome this
problem through the use of remote LEDs and thin light guides embedded into the capacitive sensing flexible layer. The completed assembly is less than 1mm thick and, by successfully combining these two technologies, secret-until-lit
26 MAY 2014 | ELECTRONICS
areas, colour changes on key operation and colour-coded visual directions can be given to the operator. This technology combination led to
Snell, a world leader in broadcast technology, to approach Stadium-IGT with a wish-list of features they wanted to integrate into their new Kahuna Maverik modular outside broadcast system.
MODULAR CONTROL SURFACE The Snell Kahuna Maverik is an innovative new modular control surface. It is easily adaptable to multiple events and event types and can save valuable space within space-restricted outside broadcast vehicles, giving full flexibility and control. The product offers new architecture, is
fully customisable and features crystal clear OLED buttons with user-assignable thumbnails. It also features a touchscreen at the M/E level for instant functionality selection, along with high resolution and intuitive user function buttons for easy effect recognition and the ability to change or add individual panel segments. Working closely with
Snell, Stadium IGT designed and built a number of prototypes which included light models,
Figure 1:
The Stadium-IGT LED Backlit Capacitive Switch Panel designed for Snell
glass, polycarbonate or acrylic front panel HMI units are resistant to both accidental and deliberate damage, enabling them to be used in public-facing applications such as information kiosks and self- service ticketing machines. The control surface does not have to be flat, so the MMI/HMI assembly can be embedded into more ergonomic and aesthetically attractive units. These capacitive switching solutions
can be sealed to lP66 against the ingress of dust or water, enabling them to be installed and used outdoors or in dusty industrial applications where the screens can be successfully operated while wearing a thick glove. It is possible to specify the sensitivity of the capacitive keyboard and to prevent operator errors adjacent key suppression can be enabled, a particular advantage in very high sensitivity units. The backlight technology also allows
“The
company’s most recent development combines, in one thin
layer, capacitive switching and multi-colour area-specific
backlighting ....”
selective illumination of keys or icons that can be used to guide operators through programming options by highlighting only the valid key choices. Simple animation effects can communicate the device’s operating mode. Backlighting that changes colour on key operation can be created by simply using bi or tri-colour LEDS to power the light guide, a feature often used to indicate the operating mode. Light blocking features can be added to give high optical isolation and good contrast between segments. Conductive pads or tracking for capacitive and other switch technologies are printed within the light guide structure and a top graphic or diffusing material as added.
Stadium-IGT
www.stadium-igt.com 023 8061 0818 Enter 230 / ELECTRONICS
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