If you’re familiar with touchscreen technology, you’re probably well aware that capacitive and resistive are the industry’s two leading types of touchscreen technology. They’ve been around for decades, powering countless touchscreen devices like smartphones, tablets, monitors, video game consoles, human machine interfaces (HMIs) and more. But there are other types of touchscreen technology, one of which is acoustic pule recognition. In this post, we’re going to explore five fast facts about this alternative touchscreen technology, revealing how it differs from traditional technologies like resistive and capacitive.
#1) It Uses Sound Waves
It’s called “acoustic pulse recognition” because it uses sound waves to detect touch commands. When turned on, the device emits sound waves across the surface. When a user touches the display interface, his or her finger disrupts these sound waves, which the acoustic pulse recognition device identifies as a touch command.
#2) It Was Invented in the Early 21st Century
With origins dating back to the early 2000s, acoustic pulse recognition is one of the newest touchscreen technologies on the market. According to Wikipedia, SoundTouch Ltd invented the first acoustic pulse recognition device around the beginning of the 21st century. Since then, several other device manufacturers have entered the market by producing and selling their own acoustic pulse recognition touchscreens.
#3) It Performs Well, Even With Scratches on the Display
Normally, scratches, scuffs, smudges and other forms of minor damage or dirt will affect a touchscreen device’s performance. When a capacitive touchscreen device gets scratched, for example, it may fail to identify the user’s touch command. While acoustic pulse recognition touchscreens aren’t immune to such damage, they typically perform well even when the display surface is damaged. This is because scratches, scuffs or smudges won’t affect the device’s sound waves, which is essentially how it detects touch commands.
#4) It Offers High Clarity
You’ll discover that displays on acoustic pulse recognition touchscreens are crystal-clear and highly detailed. They are typically manufactured using a glass top layer, allowing for a superior level of clarity when compared to other touchscreen devices. In applications where clarity is a concern, there’s no substitution for acoustic pulse recognition.
#5) It’s Not Affected By Resting Objects
Finally, acoustic pulse recognition touchscreens aren’t affected by resting objects. In other words, if an object accidentally touches and “rests” against the surface of the display, it won’t trigger a false touch command. Rather, the device will ignore it. At the same time, however, won’t register a touch command with a static, non-moving finger after the initial touch.
