Ocular has been at the forefront of touch panel and LCD innovation for the past 24 years. From our first LCD products designed to perform flawlessly in extreme environments, to our unique projected capacitive ITO design and multi-touch Crystal Touch products, Ocular continues to drive innovation and develop leading-edge products that provide value to the diverse industries we serve. Ocular customers have come to depend on our technology leadership, innovative solutions and robust product design that enables them to bring their innovative product solutions to market with leading-edge touch display capabilities. At Ocular, innovation is part of our DNA and we continue to focus on developing new and innovative technologies and unique solutions in touch display technology.

Ocular’s latest innovation is the Crystal Touch line of projected capacitive touch panels. Crystal Touch is ideally suited for applications that require high durability, true multi-touch performance and optical clarity, even in harsh and demanding environments.

With our Crystal Touch system, designers are able to combine the vibrant optical quality of a TFT display, the convenience of an easy-to-use touch panel and the extreme durability of projected capacitive technology required by demanding embedded applications. Crystal Touch is made of capacitive glass, resulting in a very durable touch panel because it is less susceptible to scratching, chemicals in the environment and other contaminants. The glass construction of Crystal Touch, combined with Ocular’s unique Low-Viz ITO design, ensures a crystal clear image.

Crystal Touch projected capacitive touch panels perform more reliably for a longer period of time when compared to other touch technologies such as surface capacitive and resistive touch panels. A typical resistive touch panel is made of film and depends upon the flexibility of the panel to register a user selection. The pressure applied with each touch to a resistive touch panel gradually erodes the structural integrity of the film, reducing reliability and optical clarity. A Crystal Touch panel registers the user selection from the capacitive effects produced when a finger or stylus touches the panel, not the deformation of the panel itself. Thus the surface of the Crystal Touch maintains its integrity and performance over a long lifecycle providing a significant return on investment.

In typical capacitive and resistive touch panels, the sense electrodes are formed with a layer of indium tin oxide (ITO) on a substrate. There are typically substantial non-conductive areas between the electrodes. The electrode traces in the ITO layer are largely transparent when formed on a substrate such as glass. However, since the ITO electrodes reflect and refract light differently than substrate in the areas between the electrodes, the electrode traces are somewhat visible to the user. The visibility of the electrode traces is distracting to the user and is not suitable for some applications. It would be desirable for the touch panel to have the sense electrodes and other traces on the touch panel be invisible to the user, thereby increasing the optical performance and aesthetic quality of the touch panel.

Ocular’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder, Larry Mozdzyn, and his research team developed a unique ITO design that virtually eliminates the visible ITO traces. The benefits are obvious and this design enables Ocular’s projected capacitive Crystal Touch products to exceed 90% clarity, even at larger touch panel sizes. And since the touch panel still utilizes ITO technology, our Crystal Touch products provide excellent performance at a competitive price point.

Ocular’s Intelligent Thermal And Power Supervisor (ITAPS) monitors and protects display systems deployed in extreme environments. ITAPS monitors input power, internal and external temperature and other environmental factors and takes action should a set threshold level be exceeded. ITAPS extends the operational temperature range of your touch display solution while providing critical protection for your system and, most importantly, your data.

In low temperature situations (less than -20°C), the ITAPS can control heating elements in the system until a safe operating temperature is reached. This can be especially useful in extreme cold temperature system start up situations. In high temperature situations (over 60°C) the ITAPS can execute an orderly system shutdown, saving all data to non-volatile Flash and protecting system circuitry.

ITAPS also monitors the condition of input power and can manage product functions when necessary. When implemented with a battery backup, the ITAPS can execute an orderly shutdown when a voltage brownout occurs, saving and protecting your data.

If you are designing a display system that is intended for use in harsh environments you should consider ITAPS.