Mitac touch kiosks operate without touch

  • July 20, 2021
  • Steve Rogerson

Shoppers can operate a self-service kiosk from Taiwanese company Mitac without touching it, thank to contactless technology from Swedish firm Neonode.

The breakthrough, which can be retrofitted to existing large screen displays, uses a combination of artificial intelligence and contactless technology.

The Neonode touch sensor modules are being used in contactless touch self-service kiosks with an 81cm display. The technology has been tested and is now ready for wider promotion globally.

Mitac Computing Technology (MCT), part of Mitac Holdings Group, is an integrated kiosk provider that has been looking for technology that brings safety to the kiosk interaction and found that the Neonode TSMs worked. In cooperation with Neonode, MCT developed non-contact touch technology for large-screen kiosks during the second quarter of this year. The retrofit is built using multiple TSMs that are working to enable contactless touch on larger kiosk displays.

“This is breaking new ground as it opens up for new kiosk segments with larger displays that we haven’t addressed before,” said Urban Forssell, CEO of Neonode. “Further, it’s suggestive to see how our contactless technology comes into play in a context with sensor fusion and artificial intelligence and we look forward to growing our smart kiosk business with Mitac.”

The TSMs are laser light-based touch sensors using light reflections that can be integrated and deployed in various applications. They identify and trace objects by detecting reflected infra-red light. With the modules, there is no need for overlays that compromise image quality.

“We strongly believe contactless touch is the future of kiosk interaction and, thanks to Neonode’s very capable TSMs, we have been able to develop a high-performing yet economical solution,” said Steven Wen, general manager of Mitac’s client business unit. “We are excited to start offering this, combining artificial intelligence and contactless touch, to our global customer base.”