When evaluating a touch screen for a hardened handheld product (the system must survive a 3-5 foot drop onto cement, and cleaning with alcohol and water), how does resistive multi-touch compare with projected capacitive, particularly for gloved hand (1-2 layers of latex or nitrile), multi-touch and gesturing GUI’s?

Scott, you get one question and one bonus question all rolled into one Touch Guy answer.

With more than 50,000 iPhone touch screens being replaced per month with cracks, broken touch screens have become a big business so we kinda like the breakage. But I guess a broken screen keeping you from your Facebook page is a lot different than not being able to reprogram a defibrillator! Before Touch Guy cuts to the answer, he wants to emphasize that good product design means the whole assembly – touch screen, LCD, and enclosure – need to be skillfully integrated to meet the breakage requirement. And that is a good segue into reminding you that Touch International provides bonding of the touch panel to the LCD with a shock absorbing optical gel that substantially reduces breakage in mission critical devices.

The simple answer to what technology is most breakage resistant is…..it’s a tie. This is because both products can be made using all plastic components. New top level hardcoats resist scratches and claim to have a hardness of 6H (traditional plastic touch panels have a hardness of 3H or 4H), and they have always been resistant to most harsh chemicals…alcohol is wimpy
compared to the super-hot acids and lye that these things see in processing.

All things being equal, you would pick the all plastic projected capacitive over multi-touch resistive (MARS) for optical clarity and longevity; however, while projected capacitive will perform nicely with two layers of nitrile gloves, if a doctor, soldier, or pilot wants to occasionally want to use a scalpel, thick work gloves or a pencil, you better go with MARS because it will work with absolutely anything.

As a parting shot, Touch Guy wants to say that this is a very general answer, and knowing the application and its requirements might result in a solution that uses a specialty glass like safety or bullet proof glass that might be better than an all plastic solution.

Until next time, Touch Guy