Technology
GlidePoint
GlidePoint was the first touchpad technology to be adopted in notebook computers as a system pointing device, that is, performing the same function as a mouse. Before that, system pointing was performed mostly using a small trackball embedded in the notebook computer case, and other mechanical devices. After GlidePoint's commercial introduction in April 1994, its popularity in notebook computers steadily increased and Synaptics and Logitech also introduced capacitive touchpad technologies. Presently, in 2009, both Synaptics and GlidePoint touchpads are used widely, with approximately 90% of notebook computers using touchpads.
GlidePoint was not the first touch input technology. For example, it was pre-dated by resistive membrane input pads such as used in the Model 3155 Keyboard from Keytronic, Inc. Transparent resistive membrane technology is presently used in PDAs such as the Palm Pilot, point-of-sale terminals, video poker machines, and information kiosks and other touch screens. There are also prior capacitive touch input pads in the patent literature. One, "The UnMouse" was invented by James Logan and marketed by his company Microtouch Systems, Inc. as a retail plug-in mouse alternative product in the 1980s, but discontinued after a few years.
GlidePoint technology senses the presence and absolute position of a finger on the pad's surface using capacitive techniques. Because of the capacitive technique, it does not require electrical contact with the finger, nor does it require the finger to exert pressure on the pad. It measures very small capacitance changes, due to a finger's proximity, among electrodes in a grid buried beneath the insulating surface of the pad. From these measurements, it can determine if a finger is touching the pad, and if so, the finger's absolute position horizontally and vertically on the surface. Subtraction of a preceding absolute position from the present absolute position yields the relative motion of the finger during that time. This relative motion is the same as a mouse for controlling position of a computer screen cursor.
GlideSensor
Cirque GlideSensor solutions are an extension of GlidePoint capacitive touch technology. They are configured to allow the rapid design of non-conventional touch input products. GlideSensor touch arrays may now be designed to take the form of thin films, flexible surfaces and irregular shapes.
GlideSensor’s mixed-mode ASIC controller was designed to blend the performance of GlidePoint with a low-voltage, low-power EEPROM programmable processor. The result is a touch controller capable of being rapidly configured to solve the most unusual input application.
Key GlideSensor technology features at a glance include:
- Design sensors in circular, linear, flexible shapes
- Programmable controller for custom solutions
- Interfaced by SPI, I2C or PS2 for easy integration to microprocessor and PC-based systems
- Efficient low-power management
- Can sense through plastic materials of many colors
- Ideal for handheld portable battery-operated products
Read more about this topic: Cirque Corporation
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