3. INTRODUCTION
3
zForce® is Neonode’s innovative optical 2D touch technology.
It gives a number of major advantages compared with
traditional touch technologies, Like capacitive or resistive.
With zForce, any type of screen or display can be used. In fact,
zForce works with any surface – flat, round or any other shape.
Another advantage is that any type of object can be used – a
finger or a stylus, a car key, fingernails, gloves and ordinary
pens.
5. DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
5
Childhood friends Magnus Goertz and Thomas Eriksson
founded Neonode in 2001 with the intent of creating a
brand new type of mobile phone.
The first prototype was launched at the German IT-fair
CeBit in March 2002 and yielded quite a bit of attention.
Using their two patented technologies, zForce and
Neonode AB, had developed three mobile phone models:
N1, N1m and N2.
7. Cont..
7
In November 2008, the company attempted issue equity,
but failed. On December 9, 2008, Neonode declared
bankruptcy.
The company was immediately started up again by Thomas
Eriksson.
The business of the parent company Neonode Inc and
Neonode Technologies AB, located in Sweden, which is the
R&D headquarters.
In 2009, the company released an updated version of the
touch-technology zForce (zero force).
8. Cont..
8
In 2010 the new product concepts ClearTouch and SAT
(Selected Area Touch) were introduced, both based on the
update zForce version.
In 2010, zForce was awarded the title "Best New
Technology of the Year" by the magazine Mobil.
The technology has been developed since 2011 and is now
implemented into a variety of touch devices such as tablets
and automotive appliances.
The same year, Sony launched their e-reader based on the
zForce technology.
11. 11
A touch screen is a display that can detect the presence
and location of a touch within the display area.
The term generally refers to touch or contact to the
display of the device by a finger or hand.
Touch screen can also sense other passive objects, such
as a stylus
INTRODUCTION
12. HISTORY
12
The first touch screen was a capacitive touch screen
developed by E.A. Johnson (1965) at the Royal Radar
Establishment, Malvern, UK. The inventor described his
work in a fully - along with photographs and diagrams - in
an article published in 1967.
The HP-150 from 1983 was probably the world's earliest
commercial touch screen computer.
14. TOUCH SENSOR
14
A touch sensor is a clear glass panel with a touch
responsive surface .
The sensor generally has an electrical signal going through it
and touching the screen causing a signal change.
The signal change is used to determine the location of the
touch to the screen.
15. CONTROLLER
15
The controller is small PC
card that connects between
the touch sensor and PC.
It takes information from
the touch sensor and translate
in to information that PC can
understand.
16. SOFTWARE DRIVER
16
The driver is a software that allows the touch screen and
computer to work together.
It tells the operating system how to interpret the touch
event information that sent from the controller.
Most of the touch screen drivers today are mouse
emulation type driver.
17. CONSTRUCTION
17
There are several principal ways to build a touch
screen:
In the most popular techniques, the capacitive or resistive
approach, manufactures coat the screen with a thin,
transparent metallic layer.
When a user touches the surface, the system records the
change in the electrical current that flows through the display.
19. RESISTIVE TOUCH SCREEN.
19
The resistive touch screen
uses a glass panel with a
uniform conductive ITO(Indium
Tin Oxide) coating on the side
surface.
A PET film is a tightly
suspended over the ITO coating
surface of a glass panel.
21. Cont..
21
When the screen is
touched, it pushes the
conductive ITO
coating on the PET
film. That results the
electrical contact,
producing the
voltages. It presents
the position touched.
Resistive touch screen deliver cost-effective, consistent
and durable performance
22. SURFACE CAPACITIVE TOUCH
SCREEN.
22
Transparent conductive
coating is on the base glass
sheet, and glass protective
coating is placed over it.
Electrodes are placed on the
four corners.
The same phase voltage is imposed to the electrodes
on the four corners, then a uniform electric field will be
forming over the panel.
23. Cont..
23
When a finger touches on the panel,
electrical current will flow from the four
corners through the finger.
Ratio of the electrical current
flowing from the four corners will be
measured to detect the touched point.
The measured current value will be
inversely proportional to the distance
between the touched point and the
four corners.
25. WORKING OF ZFORCE
25
zForce consists of a set of infrared emitters and
detectors, an optical light guide, control electronics
and control software.
The emitters pulse infrared light just above the touch
surface.
26. Cont..
26
Thus, when you touch
the screen with your
finger, it gets in the way
of one or more infrared
beams.
This allows the
system to determine the
X and Y coordinates
where the obstruction
took place.
The same thing
happens when we use
either a stylus or another
object like the side of a
card.
27. 27
A change in detected light indicates an object’s touch.
By combining the measured value from more than
one detector, the touch position and object size are
calculated.
The output from zForce can be used to identify
actions such as gestures and sweeps.
Cont..
28. KEY FEATURES
28
zForce has a touch resolution of 250 DPI which
enables precision writing with thin objects such as a
pen or a stylus.
zForce is developed for operating temperatures
ranging from -40°C to +85°C which enables usage in
very harsh environments.
The control software includes, among other
functions, advanced algorithms which calibrate the
system by adjusting the power to the emitters.
29. Cont..
29
Compensations are made for dust and other small
particles on the surface as well as for variation in
component quality and ambient light conditions.
Compensations are made for dust and other small
particles on the surface as well as for variation in
component quality and ambient light conditions.
Calibration is carried out continuously during normal
operation and no extra calibration is necessary.
30. CONCLUSION
30
Optical touch screens like zForce technology offer a
cheaper and more versatile alternative to more popular touch
screens like resistive and capacitive types. Neonode zForce is
set to replace capacitive touch screens.
Neonode has already licensed zForce to companies that
include Sony and Barnes & Noble. So, we can expect to see
this technology implemented into the next generation of
phones, tablets and e-readers.