What is the difference between IR and capacitive touch screen?

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.

Infrared (IR) and Projected Capacitive (PCAP) are the two most common touch screen technologies OEMs are using these days. However, it is difficult to find the difference upon the first look or while using the touch application unless you have an understanding of its core features.
But the two technologies actually differ in design and structure. Being an OEM, you should have a clear idea about the IR (Infrared) and PCAP Touch Screens. This way, you would be able to make an informed decision during the selection of a touch screen for your application.

Difference between Projected Capacitive and Infrared Touch Screens

Projected Capacitive Touch Screens
Given the high levels of accuracy and speedy response times, PCAP touch screen technology is typically used for smartphones and tablets. But it is not limited to applications with small screen sizes. PCAP touch technology can also be used for larger screens but on a limited scale.
PCAP touch screens have a toughened edge-to-edge glass display for a remarkable output. From easy cleaning to smooth gesture recognition, PCAP offers an amazing interactive experience while using touch applications. However, PCAP touch screens could be up to 60% more expensive than their Infrared counterparts.

Infrared Touch Screens
For commercial applications, OEMs usually trust IR (Infrared) touch technology. This technology doesn’t require actual contact with the screen, so minimum damage is incurred over time. IR (Infrared) touch technology involves embedded LED lights and sensors into the bezel of the display above the glass. LED’s beam signal across to the corresponding sensor on the other side forms an invisible grid. When the grid breaks upon touch, the sensors identify the touch point.

In IR touch technology, a bezel will always be required. Unlike PCAP, IR technology can scale up to much larger sizes, without compromising the display quality. But in accuracy, PCAP gets an edge over IR technology. Also, IR touch screens cost relatively lesser than PCAP touch solutions.

A D Metro Offers Both IR and PCAP Touch Screens
When it comes to choosing between IR and PCAP touch screens, you need to list out your requirements and then match them with the offered solutions.
A D Metro offers both the IR and PCAP touch screens with innovative modifications to overcome the gaps and provide you the perfect solution.
In IR technology, they have Linear Correlating Infrared (LCIR) touch technology which could be an excellent choice for applications requiring multi-touch but facing difficulty in integrating PCAP touch screens. The LCIR (Infrared) touch screens offer 100% sunlight immunity that is not found in any other IR touch technology. They also offer 100% optical clarity and maximum contrast, reliable two touch functionality and input compatibility with gloves and a 5mm stylus.

On the other hand, innovative PCAP touch technology offered by A D Metro encompasses an adaptive ARGON PCAP controller that detects and automatically adapts to a wide range of off-the-shelf sensor sizes, formats and cover glasses. Its built-in configuration utility offers adjustment of orientation, touch sensitivity and maximum concurrent touches, particularly useful for embedded applications.