New Tactile Touch Technology for Multi-finger Localized Interaction

KAWASAKI, JAPAN, DUSSELDORF, Germany, July 14, 2014 — NLT Technologies (NLT), together with its sales and marketing channel in Europe, Renesas Electronics Europe GmbH, has announced the introduction of an LCD prototype with a tactile touch technology developed. This technology recreates the sense of tactile texture to the users by using electric vibrations and reproduces skin sensations as if they are tracing actual objects on the display.

The display provides texture via skin sensation when the user traces the surface of the display where the image is shown. If multiple fingers touch the display at the same time, the digits on the area where the image is shown can feel the appropriate texture, but the digits on the area without the image will not feel the texture. This enables users to identify which area on a display the image is shown, not only visually, but also through tactile feel.

The stimulus can be localized in conjunction with the image object, enabling each finger to sense its own stimulus, so the display can accommodate multi-finger or multi-person tactile interaction with visual information.

A conventional tactile touch system (e.g., smartphones) presents the same sensation over the entire surface so that all fingers coming into contact with the surface experience the same sensation. In contrast, the new NLT tactile touch technology provides regional stimulation, which is provided by electrostatic force. The electrostatic force is generated by the beat phenomenon in a region where excited X electrodes cross excited Y electrodes, which presents tactile sensation to the users. The tactile touch technology applied to the panel provides multi-finger interaction.

The display arranges multiple electrodes horizontally (X) and vertically (Y) on the glass panel and applies voltage with different frequencies to each X and Y electrode located on the image area. Electrostatic force corresponding to the difference in the frequencies occurs at the electrodes’ cross point. When user traces on the surface, friction variation, modulated by the electrostatic force, occurs. The display uses this friction variation to provide the tactile sensation. The friction variation does not occur at the areas without images, so it is possible to localize the region to be stimulated and achieve the multi-finger function. This tactile technology with the matrix electrodes arrangement consists of a relatively small number of electrodes, enabling the display to be higher in density and larger in size.

Touchscreens are a vital interface for today’s information technology devices. The tactile display offers a new user experience, such as improving the usability and realistic sensation of the display, or enabling sharing of the "feeling" among users via the internet. The regional stimulation feature can be useful in many applications, including smart devices, cockpit displays in autos and aircraft to prevent the driver or pilot from being visually distracted, and in devices for the visually impaired.

NLT Technologies continues to promote research and development of multi-finger tactile displays and to open up new application possibilities, such as smart devices and industrial applications and navigation systems with more intuitive and interactive operation.

* Tactile technology – a technology that reproduces various skin sensations people perceive when they touch the actual objects.

About Renesas Electronics Europe’s Display Business

Renesas Electronics Europe is the authorized representative in Europe of NLT Technologies, Ltd. (established July 2011 as a joint venture between NEC Corporation and Shenzen AVIC Optoelectronics, Ltd.), a leading supplier of innovative LCD products for industrial applications. With an extensive lineup of 3.5- to 22.5-inch active-matrix LCD modules and a network of distributors, Renesas Electronics Europe provides complete display module solutions from NLT Technologies to the industrial, medical and high-end monitor market. In addition to modules based on NLT Technologies' SFT for ultra-wide viewing, Renesas Electronics Europe also offers LCD modules that include ultra-high resolutions, wide temperature ranges, high contrast ratios, rich color gamuts, backward compatibility, LED backlights, and transflective viewing for use in diverse lighting environments.

Renesas Electronics Europe and NLT Technologies are committed to delivering innovative, high-performance, eco-conscious LCD solutions that address the diverse size, power and high image-quality needs of their industrial, medical and high-end monitor customers. Based on technologies developed by NLT Technologies, the LCD modules are optimized and designed for a range of applications, including portable and fixed medical equipment, test and measurement devices, instrumentation equipment, point-of-sale systems, gaming systems, global positioning systems, factory automation and barcode scanners.

Additional information about these LCD display products, manufactured by NLT Technologies and represented by Renesas Electronics can be found at www.renesas.eu/display

The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.