Since it was introduced in 1971 the touchscreen has gone from strength to strength and now looks to have a firm place in the future of the coin-op and gaming industry...

Definition: TOUCHSCREEN (comput)

"A screen of a visual display unit that doubles as an input device, operated by being touched."

Reading this definition, it all sounds so simple, doesn’t it? And in some respects the principle of a touchscreen is – you touch the screen and navigate your way through a series of options to get the result you want.

But just so we are clear how far the touchscreen has developed and integrated into our lives, let me tell you about Microsoft’s latest product.

The company has unveiled a coffee table shaped ‘surface computer’ that uses infrared technology and responds to touch, can recognise more than one finger at a time, allowing small groups to gather around the table and use it, and - wait for it – it can recognise objects that are placed on its surface.

So, say you are out at a restaurant with friends and you happen to place your drink on the table, a range of information will appear by your glass, including menu recommendations, pictures of the vineyard your wine came from and even the option of ordering your next course.

As an industry that doesn’t shy away from technology, it will come as no surprise that one of Microsoft’s first customers for the product will be casino giant Harrah’s Entertainment, which plans to use the interactive virtual concierge functions.

This will allow guests to reserve concert tickets, review the menu or book a spa treatment. Guests can plan their itineraries and venues without getting up from their table.

And Bear Stearns gaming analyst Joe Greff believes IGT will be next on the list and has been quoted as saying: “We think IGT could see the device fitting into the company’s server-based gaming platform.”

This is just one example of how far touchscreen technology has come and how much it is now part of our lives.

You would be hard pushed to have never used a touchscreen before, from in-car satellite navigation systems to signing for the delivery of a parcel to checking in at the airport and even signing in for an appointment at the doctors’ surgery.

The first touch sensor

Dr Sam Hurst, the founder of Elographics, known today as Elo Touchsystems, developed the first touch sensor in 1971 while he was an instructor at the University of Kentucky and called it the Elograph.

It wasn’t transparent like modern touchscreens, however it was one of the most significant milestones in the history of touchscreen technology.

In 1974 Hurst developed the first true touchscreen that incorporated a transparent surface and then in 1977 developed a patented five-wire resistive technology.

Touchscreen technology eliminates the need for a keyboard and mouse, offering instead simple direct interaction with graphical icons that represent specific tasks.

It was first introduced into the coin-op and gaming industry 20 years ago and has since allowed manufacturers to build machines that offer multiple games on one unit and this, according to Nadia Vandeweyer of Elo TouchSystems, which has its European headquarters in Belgium, has given game designers more room for creativity, as they are not limited to one fixed button.

Benefits

“Touchscreen provides a number of benefits to the gaming industry,” said Vandeweyer. “It gives flexibility and allows the game developer more creative freedom. There’s no need for static buttons and games can be continuously improved while cabinets do not need to be redesigned as frequently.”

Norman Crowley, co-chief executive of Inspired Gaming Group, based in the UK, added: “As the technology has become cheaper, so have monitors and this has allowed a new breed of content developers to create animated content using high end graphics capability, all shown on high quality screens.”

In 1995 Funworld, based in Austria, began an international march with the first touchscreen games terminal and its Photo Play brand.

Norbert Langer of Funworld said: “In the past graphical user interfaces, such as monitors, terminals or displays, could only be controlled by a joystick, mouse or keyboard. It wasn’t possible to navigate as quickly and precisely as it is today. We have been able to establish completely new categories of games, such as card, quiz, skill and even 3D games.”

The use of touchscreen also has advantages to operators as they benefit from the multiple games now available on machines.

They gain space as they need less machines while offering more games and, according to John Temple of 3M, it gives operators the opportunity to change and update content and monitor an entire network remotely.

“The ability to utilise video with the touchscreen also means that machines can stay on site longer,” said Temple, “Unlike traditional machines which involve the operator having to physically mover machines around the premises to refresh screen print. Video touchscreen machines enable new games to be downloaded quickly and efficiently online.”

And according to Crowley: “The player can easily change what they play meaning they are less likely to move to another venue.”

The manufacturing of touchscreen-enabled displays on all kinds of devices is now widespread and as you would expect, touchscreen hardware and software has significantly improved to the point where its reliability is unquestionable.

Successful application

The key to the successful application of touchscreens relies on selecting the correct technology and there are now a number to choose from including: resistive, capacitive, surface acoustic wave (SAW), optical imaging, acoustic pulse recognition (APR) and infrared.

According to Chris Bartram, managing director of Display Technology, based in the UK, although there are many touch technologies available to game manufacturers, capacitive technology remains the most popular choice because it offers fast and accurate touch performance, excellent physical durability, premium light transmission, advanced anti-glare properties and field-tested high reliability.

“The active component of the common capacitive touch sensor is a very thin conductive coating that is fused to a solid glass sheet,” said Bartram.

“Capacitive touchscreens feature a hard-coated surface that protects the conductive coating from wear and tear caused by contaminants, abrasion and very high use levels, such as continuous touches to the same spot on the screen.

“Projective capacitive technology is also becoming more popular in the gaming arena as it is the most rugged technology. You can use a sacrificial layer of glass over the touch sensor, due to the fact it utilises a different driver technology that uses a so-called Z-Axis, which detects the finger through the glass layers.

“Gaming clients tend to like this technology as they can also use a piece of glass/Perspex for the front fascia on the machine to avoid any risk of spillage or dust in the gaps that would normally be there due to the aperture needed with the other technologies.”

Another touchscreen technology that is widely used and is the preferred choice of new entrants to the gaming industry is SAW technology.

It is nearly impossible to physically wear out, it provides excellent scratch and damage resistance and superior drift-free calibration stability as well as a superior level of light transmission at 92 per cent.

SAW works by using ultrasonic waves that pass over the touchscreen panel and LCDs using the technology can utilise any type of soft pointing device, such as a finger or stylus.

As opposed to capacitive touchscreens that have a metallic coating, which can alter the colours, SAW technology is made out of only pure glass, which maintains a sharper and brighter image.

Infrared technology, which is used in the Microsoft Surface Computer mentioned earlier, is one of the most recent developments to enter the touchscreen sector and it employs one of two very different methods.

One uses thermal induced changes of the surface resistance and the other uses an array of vertical and horizontal infrared sensors that detect the interruption of a modulated light beam near the surface of the screen.

Touchscreen developer Nexio, based in Korea, uses infrared technology and James Kim from the company said: “Our infrared touchscreen is a touch frame that is installed in front of the display screen. The frame is integrated with a printed circuit board that contains a line of infrared LEDs and photo-transistors hidden behind the bezel of the touch frame.

“The benefit of infrared over other technologies is that it gives 100 per cent light transmission as well as there being no overlay covering the display screen,” added Kim.

“Almost all types of stylus materials can be used with infrared and the lifetime of this technology is much longer, with more stable operation making ticketing machines, large plasma displays and indoor kiosks ideal applications.”

Developments

One milestone in the development of touchscreens in the gaming industry was the introduction of Elo’s surface wave technology in its iTouch touch-on-tube product for CRT monitors in 1999.

Vandeweyer explained how it worked. “Surface waves were directed onto the cathode ray tube surface itself for unhindered touch sensing – eliminating any glass overlay on the CRT and delivering the highest quality image possible. ITouch also provided an unmatched durability because the CRT faceplate was several times stronger than a touchscreen overlay, even a bonded one.

“While CRTs are now almost obsolete the benefits realised with SAW technology continue on in LCDs with IntelliTouch pure glass overlays. Over the past five years people have started to pay more attention to the quality of the graphics and technology used. Our IntelliTouch surface wave is a technology that has the highest light transmission, preserves the colours as the game developer intended them to be and operates with scratches and without the need to recalibrate.”

There have been a number of developments in touchscreen but the introduction of Immersion’s TouchSense tactile feedback into the gaming industry and other markets is one development that takes the idea of a touchscreen to the next step, as it allows a touchscreen to ‘touch back.’

Greg Balaus, of Immersion, said: “Users perceive that buttons press and release much like physical buttons and switches.

“This response restores the rich tactile information conveyed through mechanical controls, such as when clicking a computer mouse, pushing a button, or pressing a membrane switch.

“By providing an unmistakable confirmation to a touchscreen press, the TouchSense System helps promote a more intuitive, engaging and natural experience for the player.”

One company that has adopted this technology is 3M Touch Systems, which has integrated the Immersion components into its MicroTouch Capacitive TouchSense System.

Temple explained how it works: “The system enables a new multi-sensory player experience by combining existing audio and visual cues with physical feedback.”

Balaus added: “When the user presses a graphical button, the tactile feedback system drives the actuator according to a pre-programmed tactile effect in the form of a vibration.

“The actuator movement supplies the perception that the graphical button moves, seeming to press and release as if it were mechanical.”

Could the development of this latest technology be the beginning of something bigger and better for the touchscreen?

Well 3M and Immersion certainly seem to think so, with Balaus saying: “For many industries including gaming and bar-top amusements, we see touchscreens with tactile feedback becoming the norm.

“There are several reasons for this, the most obvious being that users strongly prefer visual and tactile feedback over visual feedback alone.”

Andy Powell, managing director of Games Warehouse, added: “Today’s systems are significantly more reliable. The video images are not degraded in the way they used to be and technical advances such as thru-glass, multi-touch and interactive screens are great advances and coatings such as anti-bacterial protection for players are promising developments.”

Vandeweyer added: “With touch so prominent in so many consumer products the use of touchscreens will continue to grow as will new technology, such as our APR technology that combines the benefits of all other major touch technologies, such as the optical qualities and durability of SAW, the dragging performance of capacitive and the any stylus activation of infrared. For example, players will now be able to activate the touchscreen with a fingernail where this didn’t work before with SAW or capacitive.”

But it is not just the technology that is going down the bigger and better route, the latest generation of touchscreen products have arrived in a much larger format including 22, 24, 26 and even 32ins screens, which according to Temple, greatly increases the scope for applying the screens in new game concepts.

Susanna Wesseman from Merkur believes low maintenance will ensure the future of touchscreens in the gaming industry and said: “The maintenance of the traditional games with a button panel and cable harness is complicated and expensive. Touchscreen products are very easy to maintain, which is why many future games will be equipped with a touch function.”

Crowley added to this and said: ‘The growth of video AWP will mean that all products in all categories will consist of touchscreen only. As content developers become more creative and as the technology gets even cheaper and more flexible, even products with buttons will find that any button configuration can be incorporated into the screens, which will also continue to get bigger.

“The current Playstation generation expect touchscreens in all aspects of their lives and soon this will become the norm for gaming as well.”