Hardware

Hong Kong Trade and Industry Tower taps Zytronic contactless user interface

Image provided by Zytronic PLC.

March 23, 2023

The Trade and Industry Tower in Kowloon City in Hong Kong tapped Zytronic PLC's contactless user interface to help visitors navigate the facility, according to a press release.

The main monitor, mounted on a wall, is 80 inches long while the smaller, 21-inch monitor, mounted on a podium beneath the larger display, is touch-interactive to enable visitors to browse through information related to the building, such as its design, environmentally sustainable features and awards.

Keen to show the building's green credentials to government staff and visitors more dynamically, Savills Guardian, the property's facility management company, turned to Manuel Ling, sales manager, ASPIS Innovation Solutions, a Zytronic partner and specialist systems integrator, for advice.

ASPIS created a software package to collect and summarize data from the building management system and to present information on the renewable energy generated and the building's operational carbon emissions.

While ASPIS could have used the original digital signage system to showcase building information, concerns were raised that having a touchscreen in a busy public area could contribute to spreading infectious diseases — a concern fueled further by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Techniques typically used to enable touch interactivity without physically touching the surface rely upon either infrared or optical-based hardware mounted around the perimeter of the display. The disadvantage of such systems is that the required bezel protrudes from the screen's surface and can entrap dust and dirt, making it difficult to clean, according to the press release.

To overcome this, ASPIS replaced the original 21-inch touch sensor with Zytronic's contactless touch sensor, ZyBrid hover technology, which uses proprietary firmware to boost the projected capacitive touch sensitivity to levels enabling user interactions to be detected up to 50mm from the screen's surface. In addition, no unsightly and potentially unhygienic bezels are required, making the touchscreen easy to clean.

To minimize the possibility of accidental touches as users browsed through the information displayed, ASPIS also created special graphical user interface content, increasing the size of the icons and introducing wider "guard bands" or space around each touch-active button to provide an optimal user experience.