Wasp develops capacitive switching system

Wasp has developed a capacitive switching system that can be adapted for use in almost every situation where non-mechanical switching is required.

A conventional printed graphic overlay protected by clear acrylic or polycarbonate is used together with a circuit design that operates a switch with the user's natural body capacitance.

The switch panel uses a proprietary capacitive sensor IC to detect operation by the user.

The IC's project sense fields (from conductive sensors) up through dielectric, translucent material that can be up to 10mm thick.

The use of capacitive switching enables designers to backlight the switch positions while allowing clear material to be used in capacitive touch screen assembly.

The use of such materials means that the switch is easily cleaned and impervious to accidental liquid ingression.

The operational sensitivity of the switch can be easily adjusted to overcome various environmental conditions.

This is achieved by changing the duration of the capacitive charge burst.

A complete lack of moving parts means that mechanical failure is eliminated and sense fields can be predicted through dielectric material, enabling vandal-resistant panels to be easily produced.

Back to top