This Wednesday in San Jose, CA, Atmel Corporation announced that it is sampling, to select customers, it’s revolutionary, highly flexible film-based touch sensor called XSense. Based on a proprietary roll-to-roll metal mesh technology, XSense Touch Sensors provide a high-performance alternative to existing touch sensors and its features make it possible to develop larger, lighter, sleeker, curved and edgeless designs for smartphones, tablets and a host of new touch-enabled products. It can also extend touch capabilities into a wider array of new consumer and industrial products.
“Our groundbreaking XSense technology transforms the touch experience for users of new smartphones, tablets and other touch-enabled products”, said Atmel President and CEO Steve Laub. “XSense launches a new era of touch design, enabling our customers to redefine touch and to create a new class of products that were previously only imaginable. Combined with Atmel maXTouch® controllers, Atmel provides a completely optimized, unparalleled touch experience, extending its product portfolio deeper into the touch eco-system.”
The Atmel Corporation is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. XSense is however a new product for the company, and it success is largely dependable on how well original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s) receive the product, and it’s flexible and light weight features.
The possibilities are inspiring, and it could enhance already existing products, adding sleek touch interfaces instead of traditional buttons. It also makes it possible to develop new stunning products, that are not constrained by more traditional, and more rigid touch screen solutions. Flexible touch screens is however not unique to Amtel, and other manufactures have already showed similar concepts. 3M showed back in 2011 at CES their flexible and transparent touchscreen concept, Nokia Research Center have teased us with their morph concept, and last week LG Display showed their new electronic paper display with flexible capabilities.
Only time will tell how well XSense will be received by manufacturers, but one thing is clear, there as some interesting devices in the horizon for consumers. Touch input is here to stay, and it seems now also in a flexible, curved way. Even electronic paper displays are getting bendy.
Video demonstration:
