PVI adds twist to e-paper with force-sensing technology

[Alexander Turcic]

Here's a very cool development from PVI, who must have been super-productive in the last few months. Imagine you could navigate your e-book reader with the tip of your finger without crafting the sensitive E Ink display out of its material. Well, it seems you don't have to wait much longer. PVI has partnered with a company called F-Origin (of which it owns a 20 percent stake) to incorporate zTouch, a proprietary touch screen technology, into E Ink display panels:

The functionality and flexibility in design provided by zTouch is the perfect solution for ebooks and other products that utilize PVI's ePaper displays. zTouch enables users to control book navigation and numerous management functions, such as turning pages, making selections or simply making edits or comments via touch and through gestures and hand writing recognition. The ease of use and high-functionality of zTouch are an ideal match for eBooks by PVI.

PVI has some more details about the underlying technology:

When a user touches the display, proprietary software calculates the location and intensity of the touch with input from the sensors. There is no additional layer of materials on top of he display as there is in traditional touch technologies; as such, there is no impact to the reflective qualities of the display. This technology requires no ITO (the most fragile component in traditional touch panels), hence exhibits superior robustness. Unlike capacitive touch panels which requires the touch medium be conductive (such as a finger), this force sensing technology works with either stylus or fingers.

Disregarding the problem of greasy fingers for a moment (...), do you think this technology could improve your reading experience? Join the ongoing discussion.

Thanks to athlonkmf and Ebook lover for the news.

[Alexander Turcic]

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