Touchless capacitives: usefulness and advantages

Why have touchless capacitives taken on more importance than ever in the current situation?

Due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19, preventive measures are important to reduce the risk of contagion. Thus, it would be advisable to avoid physical contact with people or objects, since according to studies carried out, the virus can remain alive on surfaces, depending on the material, from three hours to three days.

Given this fact, automation systems help reduce physical interaction with surfaces , thanks to “contactless” or touchless technology . These systems or devices can be operated through gestures, movements or voice. In this way, physical contact with surfaces on which microorganisms capable of generating infections may remain is reduced.

This technology not only works to avoid the aforementioned risks, it is also capable of creating scenes/ambiances in spaces to generate comfort for the user.

For this reason, Engishare develops and markets capacitive touchless technology thanks to its extensive experience in the electronic and mechanical sector.

A capacitive touch sensor is a device that behaves very similar to a button , but can be activated with little or no pressure. This type of touch sensor measures the variation of capacitance . The sensor plate and the human body act as a capacitor and therefore form a system that stores a charge of electricity.

As the distance is reduced, the capacitance increases and the system stores a greater charge. This charge accumulation can be detected on the sensor board and generate a digital signal when it exceeds a certain value.

The advantages of sensors with touchless technology

The main advantage of this type of sensors is that they do not require physical contact to perform the pulsation ; It is enough to bring your finger to a certain distance from the sensor. For this reason, they are called touchless devices .

In this way, it is possible to place the touch sensor under plastic, cardboard, wood or glass, as long as the thickness is not excessive. On the other hand, it will not work under conductive materials, particularly under metals.

Another advantage is that capacitive sensors have no moving parts, so, in principle, they have a greater durability than a conventional switch. There is no mechanical wear and this means that, depending on the front material, they can be ideal for outdoor or inhospitable environments.

Tell us your idea , tell us about the environment and the application and we will advise you on the best technology and the most suitable materials for the complete realization of the keyboard, as well as the casing or envelope where you need to house it. We are specialists in various front materials, and we will suggest the one that, due to functionality and aesthetics, best suits your needs.

We can also, through hidden iconography, backlight the equipment: either for aesthetics or to indicate to the user the keystroke. In all our touchless devices , high-brightness LEDs with backlight technology and semi-hidden screen printing are used.