To keep the train of thought going and follow earlier posts about physical accessibility and cosmetic/ergonomic design for people with vision impairments and other disabilities. I’d like to share my thoughts about false touches on different kinds of touch screens.
It could be that a vision impaired person is more susceptible to false touches than a person less impaired. However, being visually impaired is only a part of the picture. Some touch technologies are more likely or easier to cause a false-touch event than others.
As long as touch screens are used today there will be false touches. More or less there are in every application due to meet the wide customer base in every product, meaning that the demand within every target group varies. While more applications are being implemented with touch screen function, the amounts of different demands are becoming wider. Applications with already implemented touch technology strive to, if possible, improve their application. And for applications with the possibility to implement touch screen, but not yet are in the market; their action to apply this will likely become a future one.
From the industrial design perspective, touch screen enabled products as a whole are each day becoming more modern, easier to clean, and vandal-proof/rugged. Safety is not an option, it is an assumption. Lets talk about the white goods or home appliance market. The touch screen in these areas can make the commands easier to access and initiate, but at the same time also easier for the user to accidently make wrong touches. Some solutions could be, having a certain button to open the screen, a press & hold button to open the panel access, elimination of other touches than from one finger, gestures, etc.
With the statement that false touches exist depending on certain applications, use models and users, I’d like to highlight one of the attributes of a technology with a configurable sensitivity level; with zTouch™’s programmable touch sensitivity, false touches can virtually be eliminated. Not only is the technology getting more adaptable for each market sector or application; it has opened a broader market acceptance and new demands can be easier met.
zTouch™ provides the appropriate touch sensitivity level for specific use models and even individual users. What makes this solution even more desirable for uses like white goods is the inclusion of filtering, compensation and calibration during touch point calculation and force capture. Foreign materials on the surface are much less likely to affect the touch screen function. My point is that multiple solutions do exist; but depending upon the system requirements they are all different. From my start at F-Origin this past June, as the new Sales&Marketing Intern, I’ve completely embraced the zTouch™ technology. It is brilliant yet so simple. The technology is accurate, environmentally robust, and there is no wear and tear of the surface membrane. I’m also very pleased with the optical performance potential and the “any-touch” capability provided. So what’s your thought about this solution?