How Do You Keep a Shared Touch Screen Hygienic?
March 31, 2020
By designing hygiene into the touch surface instead of relying on constant disinfection. A touch screen with many different users easily becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses, and so a health risk. We offer three ways to reduce that risk, and they can be combined: antibacterial cover glass, an antibacterial and antiviral protection film, and contactless Hover Touch.
How does antibacterial cover glass work?
It kills bacteria on its surface quickly and efficiently, even when the surface is dry. The glass is highly resistant to mechanical and chemical influences, its optical values stay unchanged, and it can be combined with other coatings such as anti-glare and easy-clean. We supply it as part of customized touch solutions, which reduces the hygiene risk in critical places such as ATMs, ticket machines, elevator controls, and hospitals without extensive disinfection.
What does an antiviral protection film add?
Protection that can be fitted to an existing display and renewed. The crystal-clear film destroys bacteria and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 and noroviruses, within a few minutes of contact, inactivating the pathogen and drastically reducing the risk of infection through the touch display.
- It does not restrict the touch function in any way.
- It stays effective for up to 30,000 touch events and tolerates all common cleaning agents.
- At the end of its useful life, it can be removed without residue and renewed.
We deliver our POS-PRO display solutions with an exactly fitting film, and on a project basis we equip other displays with it, for public areas such as ticket and cash machines or elevator controls. More detail is on our antibacterial film page and in our antibacterial film for touch screens.
Can a touch screen work without being touched?
Yes, with Hover Touch. The touch sensor detects the finger several centimeters in front of the glass, and the user confirms an action by holding the finger briefly in one place. With no contact, nothing on the surface can transfer to the user’s hand. Hover Touch integrates into our PCAP multi-touch systems, so both functions work together: touch operation with up to 10 fingers, and contactless operation with one. Glove operation is preserved.
It suits terminals with many users: order terminals, public beverage, food, and ticket vending machines, coffee machines, supermarket scales, and interactive information displays in shopping centers or museums. Contactless operation, including Radar Gesture Control, can go into new display designs or be retrofitted to existing systems. See our Hover Touch page and how Hover Touch technology can improve industrial interfaces.
Which hygiene option fits your design?
It depends on whether the design is new or already in the field, and on how users interact with it. Antibacterial glass becomes part of the cover glass in a new design. The protection film can be added to displays already in service and renewed when it wears out. Hover Touch removes contact altogether, in new designs or as a retrofit.
Tell us where the touch screen has to work and who will use it, and we will take it from there. We recommend the touch technology, glass, and display together, handle the integration and the sourcing through the FORTEC Group, and stay with the project from first samples to series production, supported from Ronkonkoma, New York.
