Wacom announced today a major innovation in capacitive touchscreen technology, called Reversing Ramped Field Capacitive (RRFC™) touch, employing newly designed low-power circuitry and revolutionary reversing ramped electro-static fields to deliver pinpoint precision and drift-free performance to touchscreen users. The patent-pending technology can be integrated into dual-input applications with Wacom's market-leading EMR pen-input technology for Tablet PC OEMs or work by itself on other platforms that require only a finger touch interface. With this newly developed technology, Wacom can provide true flexibility to OEM partners seeking best-in-class interface solutions.

Intuitive Integration
Wacom's RRFC touch technology overcomes many limitations that are inherent in surface capacitive touchscreens available today. For starters, Wacom employs new static field engineering for increased stability and drift-free performance. With advanced ASIC design and high resolution signal processing, RRFC touch is effectively immune to noise. It is also the only surface capacitive touch technology that can demonstrate excellent accuracy, stability and sensitivity even when working on battery power. As an additional benefit, both Wacom's RRFC touch and EMR pen input technologies can work together off of a single ASIC and MCU pair, significantly reducing overall bill of materials and manufacturing costs. Furthermore, Wacom incorporates highly durable and transparent glass sensors with multiple coating and bonding options as well as intuitive driver software, creating a compelling portfolio of human interface solutions for OEM partners seeking cost-effective, state-of-the-art technology for system integration.

"Our new proprietary RRFC touch technology is exciting on a couple of fronts," said Shawn Gray, Wacom's Director of Touchscreen Operations. "New controller processing methods and system design provide extremely accurate pointing at much lower power consumption levels and without increased cost. These factors and others, such as ease of integration and stability, position Wacom RRFC touch as a natural alternative to resistive, surface acoustic wave and infrared touch technologies. Any OEM should seriously look at Wacom's solution when deciding to move beyond resistive touch solutions on portable devices or when seeking to find new and exciting capacitive touch performance in AC-powered applications."

Benefit of Wacom’s RRFC Dual Touchscreens
Compared to touchscreens with resistive capacitive, an older touchscreen technology, Wacom's RRFC touch offers superior optical performance, while having increased sensitivity and durability. Wacom touchscreens have greater transmissivity of up to 95 percent, compared to transmissivity of only 80 to 85 percent in resistive capacitive touch screens. Wacom RRFC touch technology requires less pressure, that is, only a very light stroke to activate a signal, compared to the force required in a resistive touch screen. The hard surface in Wacom's RRFC touchscreen is also tougher than glass, which helps eliminate wear and scratching.