Zytronic’s all-weather projected capacitive touch sensors have helped the city of Greensboro breathe new life into its downtown area. The durable interactive technology has provided the user interface to thirteen double-sided, 55” public information terminals, which look and work like giant sized smartphones. The North Carolina municipality deployed the kiosks to give timely information to passers-by, such as nearby restaurants, local retail promotions, regional events, and even public transportation.
The CityPost™ smart kiosks deliver real-time content regarding the locality and help raise public awareness of nearby events, local businesses, and transportation options. In addition, they are free Wi-Fi hotspots, further encouraging engagement. Another popular feature is a ‘selfie’ camera that can send the snapped image straight to the user’s smartphone via a free to download CityPost app.
Nanov Displays, a global LCD hardware manufacturer of information displays and kiosks, designed and built the double-sided smart kiosks. For the 55” touchscreens, Nanov selected Zytronic’s projected capacitive technology (PCT™ and MPCT™) for its proven high reliability, especially in outdoor applications.
Each CityPost™ unit uses two 55” ZyBrid touch sensors together with a pair of Zytronic ZXY100™ touch controllers. As the smart kiosks are located outdoors and in largely unsupervised areas, each one is made from 5mm thick, thermally toughened glass. A unique feature of the Zytronic touch sensors is their ability to function effectively through thick overlaying material, and still accurately respond to a touch, even from a gloved hand, yet remain unaffected by rainwater or dirt on the screen surface. In this case, Nanov placed a further piece of 5mm thick toughened glass over each touch sensor to create a 10mm impact resistant barrier between potential vandals and the valuable LCD and electronics beneath.
“Zytronic’s interactive touchscreens are renowned for their reliable performance in the harshest conditions – come thunderstorm, blizzard, heatwave or hurricane,” says Myungkune Moon, SVP Operations at Nanov Displays. “The extremely sensitive ZyBrid® technology enabled us to create the ultimate user experience, providing millisecond fast, accurate touch response and supporting simple gesture controls, such as swipes, even when the user is wearing gloves.”