New touchless input & control panel with hygiene benefits proposed by Alps Alpine
25 May 2020
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New input solution provides safe & easy control with peace of mind in no-touch situations – addressing settings needing improved hygiene, as well as helping offer reassurance during this COVID-19 coronavirus crisis.
Electronic systems specialist, Alps Alpine has presented a new proposal for a touchless control panel for situations when touching is undesirable, not possible or not allowed (such as medical or nursing care settings, or in public facilities – especially during this COVID-19 coronavirus crisis). Market research is currently underway, with an eye toward commercialisation in around 2021.
Downsizing and advanced functionality are key aims behind recent replacement of traditional electromechanical switches with touch panels as the input and control technology for a wide range of devices – not only smartphones and car navigation systems, but also digital home appliances and security equipment. Devices with touch panels are also being introduced for tasks traditionally performed via communication between people or with writing, such as ordering at a restaurant, front desk operations at public facilities, and recording of clinical notes by medical professionals. Here the objectives are labour saving and greater efficiency.
Use of touch panels for input and control will continue to grow. However, Alps Alpine research has highlighted (and the current coronavirus pandemic has reinforced) that there are many situations where people feel either physically or psychologically uneasy about touching a panel, because they wonder who else might have touched it, or because it is dirty, or their own hands are dirty. Visitors to medical facilities, for example, might be concerned about the risk of contracting a disease from an item because they do not know who has touched it. Some people might have a distaste for dirty surfaces on ticket machines in train stations or flush buttons on toilets in public facilities. Others might want to avoid operating a home appliance while eating sweets with their hands or while cooking in the kitchen. In situations like these, touch panels could potentially lose their convenience factor.
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The touchless control panel proposed by Alps Alpine, while incorporating the advantages of touch panels, will reduce such uneasiness or aversion by providing safe and easy control along with peace of mind. An original high-sensitivity capacitive sensor detects the approach of a hand in a series of steps – detecting the presence of a hand within 10 centimeters from the panel; the actual position of the hand within 5 centimeters; and the positions of fingers within 3 centimeters. Detected data is processed using our Alps Alpine's original algorithm to realise diverse forms of control based on the positions of, and gestures made by, hands and fingers. Recognising there will still be people who wish to touch and operate controls directly, the panel also allows touch operation.
At CES 2020, the world’s largest electronics trade show, held in Las Vegas in January, Alps Alpine presented a solution incorporating this product. A demo set was used to show how a touchless control panel might be used to regulate air conditioning temperature and air flow settings, as well as adjust room lighting via ceiling lights and floor lamps and the opening and closing of curtains. The system is designed so features and information on the display change with the distance of the hand or finger and the type of operation. It also incorporates sound feedback, allowing intuitive operation even by first-time users. The response from show visitors who tried the demo was strong.
On the basis of positive comments received during CES 2020, Alps Alpine plans to strengthen marketing activities targeting a wide range of markets where hygiene considerations are required, such as medical and nursing care settings, and public transport. Alps Alpine aims to commercialise the touchless control panel in around 2021.
Visit the Alps Alpine YouTube page to see a video of the demonstration: https://youtu.be/pp_npPqgcP4
About Alps Alpine
On January 1, 2019, Alps Electric Co., Ltd. and Alpine Electronics, Inc. integrated their businesses and started out afresh as Alps Alpine Co., Ltd with 42,289 employees. Alps Alpine will steadily bring about synergies by drawing on the two companies' advantages in core electronic devices, system design and software development. The new company will endeavour to create its own unique value for not only the automotive market, but also mobile devices and consumer electronics, as well as new sectors such as energy, healthcare and industry.
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