The IRTOUCH corporate site views better under IE, or IE Tab in Firefox.
Their FAQ answered my basic questions, the biggest being how well the IR receivers operate in direct sunlight. This is a biggie. The marketing info says all is well, but I never trust marketing.
I would like to see a few technical reviews on IRTOUCH before I pull the trigger.
While cost is listed as a con for an IR touchscreen, I think this is only for larger touchscreen sizes due to the materials cost (metal framing, PCB, IR array, etc). For the 10.4" sizes and below, the IR solution is cheaper. Consider that the IR controller is integrated into the IR array frame with a standard USB cable attached (may require an extender). This unit, say for the 8.4" E series (with glass
), retails in single quantity on Digikey at ~$130. I estimated the SAW or Cap 8.4" solution to be ~$200.
Clear cons would be the sensitivity (4096x4096 is interpolated) and the fact the the system adds more depth, which can affect the aesthetics of the bezel. Also the IR touchscreen frame is bigger! I believe by 1.6" on each side of the screen area for 8.4", so more elaborate dash restructuring may be necessary. I will check this in detail tomorrow after I have slept. Hopefully its not a deal-killer. I think IR would be worth more serious dash work. I would probably sub it out to someone.
I think I need the K08D05MU-01. I still need to decode how the glass/no glass option is specified...as a suffix? Can we just remove the glass? I hate glass.
"Do not WANT"
I was also concerned about OS driver support, but they
appear to have good coverage:
Drivers
8.4" Drawing Specs for Module E08 (E-Series targets the smaller displays and has glass, but I think we want the K-series in custom 8.4" size):
http://www.irtouchusa.com/Upload/E08.pdf
I found a video of the IRTOUCH on display at SID 2007 on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/irmultitouch
We should request more videos from the IRTOUCH member! In sunlight! Does your tech truly 0wn? If it does, we can print some "All your touch all belong to IRTOUCH" T-shirts!
Also, on a SID-based search tangent, I found the following:
Directory of the Display Industry (Jackpot!)
The above link is a treasure trove of manufacturer/distributor links that we may be able to leverage in the future.
IRTOUCH is based in Beijing. If English-based Google digs yield Zarro Hits, then I may need to hit the Chinese sites with Babelfish. Are there any Chinese individuals following this thread? I may need your language skills in the future.
Time to run the deep searches. GoogleBot, don't fail me now...
I still see it for sale at a few places, so I have a little hope, but not much.
Linear Mode
