OVERVIEW

The most intuitive interface in the computer industry today is the touch screen. Earth Computer Technologies now offers plug and play, easy to use touch screen solutions. By placing a touch screen over an Earth LCD a computer system can be controlled by the user simply touching the display. Touch screen technology has improved over the years allowing Earth to offer this state of the art solution at a low cost. The EarthTouch kit consists of a resistive touch screen that uses a thin flexible membrane separated from a glass substrate by insulating spacers. The substrate surface and the facing membrane have transparent mechanical coatings that contact when a finger or stylus presses on the screen. This effectively produces two resistive values which are read by the EarthTouch controller. The on board microprocessor converts this analog value to x and y coordinates and transmits them to the computer’s RS-232 serial port. The touchscreen glass can be attached to the front of the LCD or its enclosures bezel. The controller plugs directly into a nine pin DB-9 serial port. EarthTouch drivers for   are easy to install and use. Mouse emulation drivers for DOS and Windows are included. Sample ‘C’ source code is available for embedded applications.

Touch Kits include 1) Touch screen, 2) EarthTouch RS-232 touch controller, 3) a power supply and 4) Touch Drivers for Windows & Windows 95.

Earth offers many products with touch as a standard option. Below you will find our LCD products that are prepackaged with a touchscreen. If you do not see what you are looking for, a touchscreen can be added to any of our kits.

LCD Kits with touch (prepackaged with touchscreen)

Click here to see all Earth kits (touch and non-touch)

Resistive Touch Kit Add-on

PLEASE SPECIFY SIZE KIT REQUIRED WHEN PLACING ORDER.

 *This add-on doesn't include the LCD panel, this is purchased separately from our LCD kits page.

LCD Monitors with Touch Option

Click here to see all Earth LCD monitors (touch and non-touch).

TOUCH SCREEN FAQ's

Q. How do I interface my program to the touchscreen?

A. While there is a programming API available, the easiest is just to use the touch screen's mouse emulation, if your program uses a mouse, it already works with touch!

Q. How do I attach the touchscreen to the LCD?

A. You can use thin double sided tape to attach the touch glass to the frame of the LCD or to your enclosure's bezel and mount the LCD flush from the rear of your enclosure.

Q. How does the touchscreen controller work?

A. It takes x & y values from where the user touches the touchscreen and converts them to mouse coordinates transmitting them to your P.C.'s RS-232 port.

Q. Can I write my own touch software?

A. Yes you can, click here to download the 124 page PDF .

Q. What is resistive touch technology?

A. Resistive touch technology consists of a glass or like panel that is coated with electrically conductive and resistive layers. The thin layers are separated by invisible separator dots. While turned on, an electrical current moves through the screen casting a sort of net across the monitor face. When you touch the screen (creating pressure) the layers are pressed together, causing a change in the electrical current and a touch command to be registered.

Reliability is impressive because resistive touch screens do not have to be recalibrated when environmental conditions change. Resistive-type touch screens are usually the most practical. Resistive screens are extremely durable and can withstand the harshest of environments. Resistive technology is the “work horse” of touch technologies.

This type of screen is recommended for point of sale systems-kiosks (POS), restaurant registers, control or automation systems,
medical use, hospitality kiosks, grocery/convenience, standard kiosks and others.

Q. What is capacitive touch technology?

A. A Capacitive Touch screen consists of a glass panel with a capacitive (charge storing) material coating its surface. Circuits located at corners of the screen measure the capacitance of a person touching the overlay. Frequency changes are measured to determine the X and Y coordinates of the touch command.

Capacitive type touch screens are very durable and have high clarity. They are used in a wide range of applications, from restaurant and point of sale (POS) use, to industrial controls and information kiosks.

Side by side touch screen technology comparison.