Craft Data, the UK and European representative for industrial display monitor specialist GTT Co. Ltd has introduced their latest range of hygienic contactless touch monitors designed for kiosk applications. The “UNTACT” touch monitor range uses the tried and tested infrared touch technology, however, whereas in conventional IR touch monitors the infrared touch is mounted as close to the display surface as possible, typically 5mm, “UNTACT” moves the infrared touch frame 25mm away from the display surface, making the detection of a stylus (finger or gloved finger) 25mm away from the physical touch point being displayed on the TFT LCD, hence “contactless”.
To help the user understand that the touch has been registered without the act of physically touching the screen the monitor has two haptics built in, “light” and “sound” and one external haptic, “visual”, which requires additional software (supplied) loaded onto the kiosk’s hard drive. These three haptics help in the following ways:
- Visual: an animated transparent target is superimposed over the users intended touch target displayed on the TFT LCD panel;
- Light: LED lighting mounted around the edge of the active display area switches on and illuminates the display area at the detection of a stylus then switches off when the stylus is removed;
- Sound: a buzzer/beeper sounds to indicate the detection of a stylus. Another feature unique to UNTACT is its polygonal touch function which detects and dismisses a hand or sleeve should these accidentally stray into the touch area alongside the intended stylus, plus a 6-point multi-touch function gives users the same pinch and pull functionality they associate with their own smartphones.
There are currently four sizes within the “UNTACT” range, 21.5”, 23.8”, 27.0” and 32.0”. All have a 1920×1080 full HD resolution and are in the wide screen 16:9 format. IPS or MVA technology TFT LCD panels are used, ensuring that all monitors have ultra-wide viewing angles of 178° on both the horizontal and vertical axis allowing for the monitors to be mounted in both landscape and portrait orientations without loss of image quality and colour. Larger sizes up to 100” are in planning and the company can also offer a full customisation service should a certain panel size, high brightness or a complete bespoke monitor to your own design be required.
