Human-to-machine interactions have been seeing a lot of innovative advancements over the years. It was recently announced that Peratech’s Quantum Tunnelling Composite sensor technology has been licensed to Samsung Electro-mechanics. This technology can be harnessed to design pressure sensitive 5-way input devices that deliver users a new way of interacting with mobile phones.
“It is a huge testament to the power and potential of QTC technology to not only replace traditional switches with more reliable switches but to also add new functionality so that better, more innovative products can be created with enhanced user interaction. Samsung EM supplies components to most of the leading phone manufacturers so our technology will soon be used across a wide range of next generation phone models. In fact, a Navikey using QTC from Samsung EM is already being used into a Tier 1 mobile phone Philip Taysom, joint CEO of Peratech,” trilled Philip Taysom, joint CEO, Peratech.
The license allows Samsung to implement QTC switches in 5-way out put devices or Navikeys that are utilized for menu navigation or user interaction with their handsets. These are electro-active polymeric materials constructed out of metallic or non-metallic filler particles combined in an elastomeric binder. QTC switches and switch matrices can be screen printed enabling development of switches that are as thin as 75 microns. Dome switches may now be replaced with those devised with force sensitive QTCs.
Ho-Chul Joung, Principal Manager at Samsung EM, remarked, “The pressure sensitivity of the QTC switches changes the game when it comes to human machine interface design enabling truly 3D user interfaces to be created in small, low power devices. This three-dimensionality cannot be matched with existing resistive and capacitive technologies and means that the next generation of mobile phones will have many new and exciting features because of it.”
A significant characteristic of this technology is that it has no moving parts and does not call for air gaps between contacts. QTC technology may be designed with no start resistance in a manner that permits the switch to draw power only when confronted by pressure. Input devices attributed with this intelligence will render new methods of interaction with mobile phones. Functions like speed of scrolling through a list or speed of movement in a game can fluctuate depending on how much pressure is applied to the switch, thus delivering speedier and more intuitive interaction with the device.
No word has surfaced pertaining to when QTC equipped gadgets will be released by Samsung.