Capacitive vs Infrared Interactive Display:Things you should know

The technology behind interactive touch screens is continually evolving. Alongside points of touch, use of software and others, a significant development is from infrared touch to use of capacitive touch technology.

Learning the differences and benefits between Infrared touch technology and Capacitive touch technology, which will help you to choose the perfect touchscreen for you.

Capacitive is the leading type of touchscreen technology. Even if you’re unfamiliar with it, you’ve probably used - or still use - a capacitive touchscreen device. From smart phones and tablets to video game consoles and smart appliances, countless touchscreen devices are powered by capacitive technology.  Infrared touchscreens aren’t as common as their capacitive counterparts, but they are still worth considering if you are looking to buy one or more touchscreens. Infrared touch technology is gaining momentum these days.

CAPACITIVE TOUCH

With capacitive touchscreens, a uniform electrostatic charge is applied to the top layer. Because the human body is conducts electricity, touching the display will absorb some of this current, which the devices uses to detect touch commands.

The sensitivity and accuracy of this technology is greater. The glass on the screen is highly durable because of its need to stay in good condition as that is how it registers touch. You can be happy in the knowledge that it stays tough in the roughest classroom.

INFRARED TOUCH

Infrared touch screens don’t use an electrostatic charge to detect touch commands. Instead, they use a combination of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and sensors to detect touch commands. IR touchscreens are designed with LEDs that emit light to corresponding sensors across the surface of the display. If you touch the display, you’ll disrupt the LED light in that area, which the device uses to detect your touch command.

The technology involves an embedded overlay of infrared beams all around the screen from a strip within the device’s bezel. When an object interacts, a finger or a stylus for example, the device will register it as a touch point.

IR and capacitive are two completely different types of touchscreen technology. IR uses a grid-like array of LEDs and sensors to detect touch commands, whereas capacitive uses a uniform electrostatic current to detect touch commands.