27-06-2022 | Touchnetix | New Technologies
TouchNetix has added to the aXiom family of HMI chips with the release of a pure Force-Sensing chip – the AX54A-Force. This is an excellent small-sized chip to complement smart touch surfaces, touch button clusters and other solutions where touch functionality is integrated.
Its unique and patented Force-Sensing technology is gaining significant momentum in automotive and industrial markets, providing modern and safety-enhancing HMI for multiple car OEM platforms. The integrated force-sensing technology in the family provides accurate and highly sensitive force-sensing data to the user interface.
The integrated force-sensing technology allows accurate and reliable force measurements on the touchscreen or surface from 0.1 Newton (10g) to 20 Newton (2000g). The aXiom technology also offers unique multi-force position sensing down to a spatial separation of 1.5cm. The superior sensitivity and SNR of the chips allows the detection of the smallest force signals with extremely fine precision. The technology also allows a wide range of forces to be detected to cater for all requirements.
It also offers Dial-on-Display features that are integrated within the aXiom touch solutions. Additionally, it enables touchless user interfaces by accurately sensing the presence or position of a user’s finger above the touchscreen or touch surface. User interfaces developed using this technology can use Force-Sensing to verify the user intent by requiring an additional press and avoiding inaccurate touch instructions from an errant finger in a moving vehicle. The aXiom HMI chips provide safety-enhancing systemic redundancy from two separate sensor measurement systems by combining the multi-force technology with parallel multi-touch measurements.
The patented technology is mechanically easy to incorporate as it uses off-the-shelf and low-cost components and materials that are automotive qualified. The technology acts to absorb any mechanical stack tolerances offering enhanced mechanical and manufacturing reliability. All the chips are qualified according to AEC-Q100.
Gaute Myklebust, chief technology officer of TouchNetix, commented: “Many customers realize the safety-enhancing advantage of having redundant Touch and Force detection in their systems. Moreover, our easy-to-use and low-cost Force-Sensing solution offers the additional confirmation action you require in modern automotive and industrial HMI solutions to confirm the user intent for specific functions.”
