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correlating infrared

How LCIR Touch Sensors Helps Avert Screen Readability Issues in Avionics

Avionics designers often encounter the moment when their entire project seems to hit a roadblock due to sunlight readability issues. With displays completely washed out by bright light, they become hard to be clearly seen mostly from reflected glare. Brightly lit environments can be stressful on the eye.

Many of these displays that need to be touch capable are fitted with standard Infrared (IR) touch screens and designed with an LCD display comprising an IR touch frame mounted around its perimeter. This IR touch frame entails Infrared LEDs and photodetectors along with an optical bezel or protective cover. The IR LEDs emit infrared beams (invisible to the naked eye) through the bezel, creating an optical grid on the display surface. This type of touch technology would be ideal for avionic displays since they don’t employ any substrate glass that could interfere with the display’s image but…

Standard Infrared (IR) touch screens are vulnerable to strong infrared interferences such as sunlight. Sunlight hitting the photodetectors of a standard IR touch screen causes them to become overwhelmed by the sunlight and they fail to detect the light emitted by the touch screen’s LEDs resulting in erratic operation or inoperability. So, what is the best way to avert readability problems? It could be Linear Correlating Infrared (LCIR) touch technology, developed by the leading manufacturer and supplier of innovative touch screens, A D Metro.

The LCIR touch technology offered by A D Metro is an advanced form of infrared touch technology that comes with two-touch functionality. Therefore, it is an excellent alternative for touch screens needed for markets requiring multi-touch features but having difficulty integrating Projected Capacitive (PCAP) touch screens.
Linear Correlating Infrared (LCIR) touch technology functions seamlessly even when exposed to challenging environments such as strong radio frequency interference (RFI) and bright sunlight interference including strobing sunlight as would be common in helicopters.

A D Metro’s LCIR touch sensor technology offers:

  • 100% optical clarity/maximum contrast due to the absence of substrate
  • 100% sunlight immunity
  • 100% EMI and RFI immunity
  • Reliable two-touch functionality
  • Glove and 5mm Stylus compatibility

Benefits of using linear correlating infrared (LCIR) touch technology

  • Linear correlating technology in LCIR touch sensors can stand any sunlight exposure – even strobing sunlight such as in helicopters.
  • Since there are no moving parts or air gaps like resistive touch screens, LCIR offers consistent performance across temperature and pressure extremes and offers near limitless life span.
  • LCIR’s responsive and accurate single and two-touch functions are considered perfect for navigation applications.

Application of A D Metro’s LCIR touch screens

  • This advanced Infrared touch screen technology is greatly recommended for critical user input in automotive, aviation and medical applications and all markets where ultra-reliable touch screen function is vital.
  • This is particularly helpful for vehicle applications as operator distraction due to glove removal (as required with capacitive touch screens) and insufficient display contrast which may lead to accidents.

Conclusion:
A D Metro’s LCIR touch technology is undoubtedly the perfect solution for display challenges in avionics. It has overturned the readability issue caused by sunlight with standard IR touch. And not only in the avionics, but this advanced IR touch sensor is ideal for dashboard displays in automobiles.
In fact, touch screen dashboards are now very common in automotive applications such as navigation, sound systems, climate control etc., all now operated by touch.

 

 

 

Ask the touch screen experts at A D Metro