Touchco to Revolutionize E-paper Interfaces

E-paper devices have been plagued with bad usability since the start. The Kindle, while serviceable, feels very retro in its use of clunky buttons. Other manufacturers have tried to modernize usability to mixed results, each one implementing touch-screen interfaces in their own ways, and each one fundamentally flawed. The Sont PRS-707 came with a Wacom touchscreen interface laid over the e-ink screen, causing glare and adding eye-strain to the product, removing any benefit that e-ink gives the device.

Then there is the Iliad, a pricey device also with a touch screen interface. This interface used a lightpen, which was able to read your position on the surface without adding a layer of glare. But, it relied too heavily on the pen, which could be easily lost and pricey to replace. It also had the problem of using only a single touch point on the screen, and anyone that has used an iPhone or an iTouch can tell you that dual touch is the wave of the future when it comes to user interfaces.

The Nook has a capacitive touchscreen on the bottom of it’s device, but that too was filled with problems. Strange response times, odd behavior and significant eye-strain from moving from e-paper to the touchscreen caused many complaints. All of these devices have tried to move e-readers and e-paper into the next generation, and each one has proved more flawed than feasible.

Enter Touchco, with their multi-touch technology that fits hand in glove with e-paper products. Even though they plan on using Touchco’s new technology with a slew of different devices, a majority of the demonstrations and listed products all used e-paper in some form or another.

The Technology Behind the Tools

Most multi-touch tracks fingers using either a small web camera (like Microsoft’s Wall demonstration) or they use something called Captive Touch Technology (like the iPhone) that registers contact with skin. Touchco’s new implementation uses a technology they call interpolating force-sensitive resistance, or I.F.S.R.

It uses force-sensitive resistors which can scan different levels of input and pressure, allowing for a more dynamic and sensitive touch screen interface, with an even smaller electronic footprint. This means that you can keep e-paper’s low battery use intact even when using a touch surface for navigation. The price of the technology is also a major selling point–it is the cheapest of the touch screens by far, coming in as little as $10 per square foot.

They’ve listed a large number of e-readers coming out with this technology in the up coming year, including some interesting design interfaces for things like musical composition and a sketchbook replacement that could the difference of sharpness/softness between a pencil, pen or paintbrush. The technology could revolutionize the way we interface with computers, providing more sensitive and realistic feedback for a fraction of the cost.

Benefits for E-Paper

Unlike the current models of touch screen combined with e-paper, this Touchco system works naturally and seamlessly with any e-paper display/device. Unlike Sony’s PRS-700, there will be no added glare or eye-strain from a surface layered over another. Unlike the Iliad, there won’t be any problems using more than one touch point on the surface, nor will you have to worry about replacing an expensive pen if you lose it.

The battery footprint is about on par with most e-paper devices, allowing you to have the same long lasting battery life without getting rid of the intuitiveness of touch. And, since it can work natively with the e-paper screens themselves, you don’t need an extra LCD touch-strip on the bottom of the screen like the Nook has, so you no longer need to worry about additional eye strain.

If the technology for e-paper keeps ramping up with all these new advances, 2010 will definitely be the break out year for the technology. A device that uses QualComm’s Mirasol display, or Pixel Qi’s new display combined with this touchscreen could easily rival products like the iPhone, or iPod Touch.  Allowing you full color, touch displays with ultra sensitivity and low battery life.

design, interface, touch, touchco