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Comparison of Touch Technologies*

Characteristics • Full Specifications • Player Comparison of Technologies

Characteristics

  IntelliTouch Surface Wave Acoustic Pulse Recognition Capacitive
Physical:      
Construction Transducers and reflector stripes on all glass overlay (outside of viewable area) Transducers on back of all glass overlay Glass overlay with ITO coatings on front and back with silica overcoat
Light transmission Typically 92% Typically 92% Typically 85%
Reflection Less than capacitive Less than capacitive ITO coatings cause some additional reflections
Color purity Perfect Perfect ITO coatings alter colors slightly
Clarity Same as clear glass. No noticeable degradation using USAF 1951 Resolution Chart Same as clear glass. No noticeable degradation using USAF 1951 Resolution Chart ITO and antiglare coatings can make images slightly less clear
  IntelliTouch Surface Wave Acoustic Pulse Recognition Capacitive
Touch:      
Resolution 4096 x 4096
Z = 0–255		 4096 x 4096 1024 x 1024 or greater
No Z
Accuracy Standard deviation of error is less than 2 mm (less than ± 1%) 1% max. error ± 1.5%
Parallax Parallax error caused by thickness of touchscreen glass and air gap Same Same
Calibration Stable None Can be less stable
Stability Touch coordinates do not change with environment (temperature, humidity, surrounding metal, etc.) Touch coordinates do not change with environment (temperature, humidity, surrounding metal, etc.) Touch coordinates can possibly change with environment. May need recalibration periodically or when moved.
Sensitivity Very sensitive Sensitive Extremely sensitive
Speed < 10 ms (recognizes fastest taps). Faster than capacitive in two-handed play. <10 ms (recognizes fastest taps) <10 ms (recognizes fastest taps), but slower in two-handed play
Double touches Rejected Subsequent touches recognized without removing first Averaged
Stylus Soft (finger, glove, eraser) Finger, fingernail, pen, credit card Conductive (some people with dry or callused fingers may have problems)
Diagnostics Touch function can be verified remotely None Not possible
  IntelliTouch Surface Wave Acoustic Pulse Recognition Capacitive
Environmental:      
Chemical resistance That of glass That of glass Silica overcoat
Surface durability No coatings to wear No coatings to wear ITO coating is protected by silica overcoat. However, surface coatings can theoretically show wear.
Scratches Mohs' hardness rating of 7; can function with scratches Mohs' hardness rating of 7; can function with scratches Anti-glare hardcoat cannot be scratched using any stylus with Mohs' rating < 6; scratches can make screen nonlinear
Dirt Maps around contaminants. Works with dust, ashes, finger grease, smoke. Ignores No issues
Water Works with stationary water droplets (sneezes, wet fingers). Must be wiped after spills Works through standing water No issue if water does not touch metal
Sealing Splash proof seal possible; watertight seal included on Elo LCDs Watertight seal included on Elo LCDs Splash proof seal possible
Cleaning Ordinary glass cleaners, alcohol Same Same

Full Specifications

* To compare Elo touch technologies more completely, see the product specifications on www.elotouch.com or the datasheets below:

Player Comparison of Technologies

In blind comparative tests on Photo Play, players voted for Elo technologies in virtually every category. Read more from an article in Play Machine magazine, March 2001 (English • Italian).