Elo to Show New Touchscreen Technology at ICE/ATEI 2004
Elo TouchSystems, Inc., the global leader in touch technology and a business unit of Tyco Electronics, is demonstrating exciting new multi-touch capabilities and bartop touch technologies on booth 1830 at ATEI, London from 27 to 29 January 2004.
The company will also be exhibiting several new gaming touchmonitors including the 1229L (pictured), a multifunction integrated LCD monitor, the 1947L 19in LCD panel with wide viewing angle and over 20 LCDs and iTouch touch-on-tube CRT monitors.
Elo's Multi-Touch capabilities are delivered through a combination of state-of-the-art touch algorithms, patent-pending technology and new touchmonitor products. The simultaneous touch technology is made possible by the unique properties of Elo's surface wave technology. Two or more players can now touch the screen simultaneously without having to make contact with a metal plate.
Mike Sigona, Elo's European Marketing Manager, said, "Multi-Touch technology not only enables games for dual and multiple players, but single players can, for the first time, play games with both hands, both touching and dragging. Furthermore, a z-axis value is reported for each hand, indicating the amount of touch pressure." The simultaneous touch feature is supported on both CRT and LCD monitors with Elo's IntelliTouch and SecureTouch touchscreens and iTouch touch-on-tube technology.
Elo is also demonstrating its new bartop touch technology that offers a long requested solution for touch games on a truly flat surface. The new touch technology operates through a wide range of glass surfaces including 12mm break-resistant safety glass built into many bartops, and is completely unaffected by spills and dirt. Elo is offering its 1547L LCD monitor integrated with the technology which can be easily mounted under or behind a flat piece of glass.
"No longer does the touchmonitor need to be recessed into the bartop creating a trap for liquids and dirt," said Mr Sigona. "In addition, there are no more difficulties accommodating a bezel around the touchscreen. Our new touch technology solves these problems and allows a bartender or waiter to clean the playing surface as easily as an ordinary tabletop."
Other new products on display include Elo's 1229L multifunction integrated touchmonitor. "This unit is the latest example of Elo's commitment to increased value in new products," Mr Sigona said. "The 1229L includes options for a magnetic stripe reader (MSR), a rear-facing customer display and a fingerprint recognition device. All these options are seamlessly integrated into the monitor housing and designed to harmonise with the elegant styling of the monitor." The three-stripe MSR can read ID cards, credit cards and even customer loyalty cards. The rear-facing display confirms transactions for customers while security and access concerns can be addressed by the fingerprint recognition device. Available with a choice of Elo's touch technologies, IntelliTouch surface wave, AccuTouch resistive or CarrollTouch infrared, the 1229L can be optimised for use in a wide range of gaming applications including casino pit, cash cage, player tracking, casino table management, bingo and customer loyalty schemes.
Also on show is Elo's new 1947L 19in LCD monitor with pure glass IntelliTouch touch technology. "The 1947L is the latest addition to Elo's family of chassis LCD gaming touchmonitors," Mr Sigona said. "Like the 12 to 18in products, the 1947L has a longer-lasting product cycle because the enclosure is controlled by Elo's design specifications. This means that future panel upgrades are possible without external changes."
"The 1947L has a wide viewing angle - 170 degrees both vertical and horizontal - to attract more players," said Mr Sigona. "The larger display grabs the player's attention and the IntelliTouch surface wave touch technology, without any metallic coatings, maximises brightness, minimises reflections and the colours of the graphics are not altered." IntelliTouch touch technology is known for its fast, precise touch performance which never needs recalibration.
Included in Elo's line-up at ATEI of over 20 different LCD and CRT gaming monitors is another recent addition, the 2187C 21in open-frame CRT touchmonitor. The 2187C joins Elo's existing family of 15, 17 and 19in CRTs that feature the company's unique iTouch "touch-on-tube" technology. As with all of Elo's gaming monitors, the new 2187C touchmonitor features a unique injection-moulded minibezel and watertight seal.
"All of our gaming monitors are designed as a direct result of feedback from game developers," Mr Sigona said. "The new 2187C 21in CRT touchmonitor was created in response to the need for a larger screen than our 19in model. While LCDs are increasingly popular in gaming, it is still possible to get a much larger picture with a CRT for about half the price of an LCD. Players do not differentiate between display technologies but they do like a larger image. Elo's iTouch "touch-on-tube" gaming CRTs are 100 percent software-compatible with Elo's line of gaming LCDs so the same games can run on both families of gaming touchmonitors."
Elo's iTouch technology ensures that picture quality and image clarity are retained across the larger display. "iTouch senses touches through surface waves on the CRT faceplate itself, effectively eliminating the need for a coated glass overlay," Mr Sigona said.
"This means the touchmonitor provides 100 percent of the picture quality, retaining accurate, vibrant colours and clear graphic displays, with up to 80 percent less reflection than traditional overlays. iTouch also provides extremely fast, sensitive and drift-free touch performance," he said.
"With our new gaming monitors, Elo again delivers quality and reliability at an extremely cost-effective and competitive price point."
876
