/> The compact touch-enabled tablets, are used to present a 45 minute long interactive film entitled ‘Who do you think you really are?’ narrated by wildlife broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. The film has been created, with assistance from the BBC, to help to bring the story of evolution to life. Combining computer graphics with real life, it is possible for the audience to experience what it would be like to be in the same room as creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago. A network of infrared beams span the Darwin Centre’s studio. These detect where the camera in each tablet is pointing, so that the position of animated CGI images is consistent for everybody present – resulting in a highly realistic effect.

Each tablet has a 16cm x 10cm display that accommodates a full Qwerty touchscreen keyboard. Users can rotate three-dimensional diagrams, scroll through detailed information, and take part in quizzes/games, as well as entering data on specimens.

The proprietary PCT sensor technology, developed by Zytronic, is comprised of a matrix of micro-fine capacitors, embedded on the rear surface of a durable glass panel. In contrast to many touch technologies, PCT-based touchscreens are practically invulnerable to the effects of environment or impact. This allows reliable touch screen interactivity to be deployed in the most extreme applications and devices designed for public-use. Additionally the sensors can be designed in a wide range of sizes and form factors between 5-inches and 82-inches, including attractive smooth-fronted designs made popular in the latest portable consumer electronic devices such as the iPad.

The Melford Electronics touch tablets were designed to be extremely light, weighing less than 1kg each, as many of the expected users will be children. However, a heavy duty construction was also essential, in order to avoid damage from rough treatment over time. As a result he custom designed touch sensors designed and supplied by Zytronic to Melford Electronics have a front surface made from 2mm thick chemically toughened glass. As an important safety feature, the rear face of the screen is also laminated with an optically clear hard coated polyester film that helps to hold the glass in place in the unlikely event of breakage. Finally an antiglare film applied on the front glass. This offers added protection, as well as ensuring high levels of display clarity under a variety of lighting conditions.

“We worked very closely with Zytronic’s engineering team to overcome the various technical challenges of this project,” stated Carl McGregor, Sales Manager at Melford Electronics. “As well as the robustness of the touchscreen and the need to be lightweight, there was also the issue of being able to fit the display/touchscreen assembly into the compact handheld package, and having to deal with electromagnetic interference issues this would cause. We were very pleased with the support we received from Zytronic in achieving this.”

“The demand for touch interactivity in portable, tablet sized industrial or public-use devices is expected to grow, following the trend being rapidly established in the consumer electronic market with products like the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy,” Ian Crosby, Sales and Marketing Director for Zytronic, added. “As a result this has proved to be a very exciting project for Zytronic, and has allowed us to showcase the relative strengths of our projected capacitive sensing capability, with accurate touch detection being complemented by optical and mechanical design enhancements to form a complete high performance touch solution.”