When most people think of touchscreens technologies, they envision capacitive and resistive. Capacitive and resistive are the two most common touchscreen technologies. Over four-fifth of all new touchscreen devices use capacitive technology to detect touch commands, whereas many of the remaining touchscreen devices use resistive technology.
Capacitive and resistive might be common, but they aren’t the only touchscreen technologies available. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) is an alternative touchsreen technology. Here are five common myths about SAW touchscreens that you shouldn’t believe.
#1) Doesn’t Work With Gloves
You can control a SAW touchscreen either with or without gloves. They aren’t like capacitive touchscreens in this regard. Capacitive touchscreens require the use of a conductive object. Therefore, you can’t control them while wearing gloves — not unless you wear special capacitive gloves, at least. SAW touchscreens leverage an entirely different method to detect touch commands. Unlike capacitive touchscreens, they don’t measure an electrostatic field, so you can control them with or without gloves.
#2) Only Supports Single Touches
Some people assume that SAW touchscreens only support single touch. Single touches consist of touch commands using a single point of contact. While SAW touchscreens are available with different features, most of them support single touches as well as multi-touch commands. Multi-touch commands involve two or more points of contact at the same time. You can perform single touches and multi-touch commands on most SAW touchscreens.
#3) Poor Optical Clarity
Another common myth is that SAW touchscreens have poor optical clarity. The truth is that SAW touchscreens offer excellent visibility, even in bright environments. The glass surface used in SAW touchscreens is often treated with anti-glare or anti-reflective coatings to further enhance visibility in different lighting conditions.
#4) Prone to Damage
Think SAW touchscreens are prone to damage? All touchscreens can sustain damage, and SAW touchscreens are no exception. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are prone to damage. Most SAW touchscreens are known for their durability and reliability. They are designed to withstand heavy use in a wide variety of environments, including public spaces, industrial settings and outdoor applications.
#5) Contain Moving Parts
SAW touchscreens don’t contain moving parts. They are defined by their use of ultrasonic waves. When you turn on a SAW touchscreen, it will project ultrasonic waves across the display interface. Sensors along the edges of the display interface will pick and sense these ultrasonic waves. Performing a touch command will disrupt the sound waves, which the SAW touchscreen will identify without the help of any moving parts.
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