cost of touch screen monitors for museums factory

I get this question from friends and clients fairly regularly. What kind of recommendations do you have for a touch screen in an exhibit for my budget?

I originally posted this on June 21, 2017, last week I did a presentation at the New Mexico Association of Museums conference and wanted embed my presentation. I"ve also updated the content to include some more ideas.

The prices below do not include the prices of software development because that depends on the complexity of your project and who you hire. Here are a price ranges to give you an idea:

Pros: Basically free - this is even in a price point where decently well-off hobbyists can get in on the action. They"re also easy to purchase and replace if something happens to them.

Cons: The Pi is a wonderful thing for the price, but it isn"t a super powerful computer. You won"t be able to run really fancy, graphically intensive programs on this. Also, the screen isn"t big - only 7" diagonal. Finally, I am not sure I"m ready to guarantee that this is museum quality hardware that can withstand children banging on it every day.

Cons: I"ve heard a lot bad about using them in exhibits when they"re mounted. They tend to overheat and break down. They"re really not made for that kind of thing. Also has a small screen.

Project Ideas: So they tend to work pretty well as reference guides for docents, but that can also backfire. I"ve been to museums where instead of interfacing with visitors, the docents have their nose down on the tablet and are just reading stuff to them. It"s pretty silly, frankly. Visitors are also capable of Googling things.

Pros: Small and inexpensive. Great for streaming media, also can purchase in Enterprise Mode if you want to manage a bunch of them or unlock other options. They"re compatible with some touchscreens, but you"re likely better off using something else if you"re trying to create a touchscreen kiosk program.

Project Ideas: One particular project that I know this is being used for is the ViewSpace theater in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. The old computer died, so now they"re streaming the content using a Chromebox.

Cons: I"ve seen these get broken into a lot in exhibits. Apparently there are some better ways to lock them down now, though. Small screen. If you want to have your app run on it, you have to go through the Apple Store even if you don"t want it to run anywhere else.

Cons: Make sure you build a good case for this thing. I"ve seen people break into these with a flash drive if you don"t block all the ports. Also not a good choice if you want a huge screen.

Project Ideas: Nice educational games, video viewers, etc. Maybe an app that uses computer vision with the built-in webcam that some of them have. At this point, the only limit is your imagination. :-)

Pros: This is a really unique piece of hardware that allows you to include physical pieces in your interactive. You also get two touchscreens for the price of one, which is a good deal. There are free apps that you can download from the Sprout marketplace that are pretty neat - there"s a measuring app, an app that allows you to create stop-motion videos, one that lets you convert currency, and many more.

Cons: Sometimes difficult to work with. On the first version, the hardware was a little finicky. I had to have one of the touch mats replaced, but on the other hand, the support staff was really friendly and mailed the parts right away. Hopefully they"ve improved that. Also, the buttons to turn it on and off are in a really conspicuous place, so you should be mindful of how you use it in your space.

Project Ideas: 3D building applications, walk visitors through assembling items, Allow visitors to walk a figurine through a 3D model of a historical site - lots of cool stuff. Also see Sim Pueblo

Cost: Touch screens range from ~$250 for the smallish ones (in which case you should just buy an all-in-one PC) to $1600 for a 55" to $11k for an 80" one!

There are a lot of options for computers. You can get any tower to work with these, or you can look at a small form-factor computer like an Intel NUC. Ballparks - $500 - $800

Pros: You can get exactly what you need to run really awesome software that makes a huge visual impact. They"re also flat screens, so you have a lot of options for embedding it in the wall and making a seamless experience.

Interactive Projections are one of those wonderful and flashy fun things that people love. One of the great things about them is that they don"t really need to cost as much as you think - you just need a projector, a computer, and a 3D camera.

Cons: Software cost will be a little bit higher than a typical touchscreen because you have to spend more time on the installation and testing. Don"t expect to get perfect touch capability unless you buy an expensive all-in-one setup. This is better for more experiential interactives. Also, make sure you plan this for a dark room - if you want to put it somewhere near a window, expect to pay A LOT of money for a projector!

Project Ideas: One of my favorite things I"ve seen with this is an interactive sandbox (shown above). You move the sand around with your hands and then it projects a topographical map on it. A fun program that my colleagues at Highlands did for a museum in Las Cruces is a thing where you step on dinosaur footprints to learn more about what dinosar made them. All kinds of good stuff!

A short-throw projector. You want a short-throw projector so you can mount it close to the wall and not worry about people"s shadows on the projection. I found a bunch of them on B&H photo. Look in to find the ones that are supposed to last a long time. The last thing you want to do is buy a cheap one and have it burn out in a month.

Pros: A lot of software possibilities. Some tables are safe for drinks, and Ideum"s even support tangible objects. They allow for a lot of interaction between visitors, also.

Cons: Expensive, debatable how long they last. I"ve heard that they aren"t projected to last much more than 3 years, but you can replace the touch screen if you need to.

If you really want to make a statement and put something huge in your space, think about a touch wall. They"re not as limited by light as a projection, and they"ll definitely turn heads. These can either be purchased as straight - up video or as touchscreens.

Cost: Goes up exponentially! You"re looking at $50k - 100k for the screens alone. You also need to get a beefy computer with a really beefy graphics card to be able to handle running a program on multiple screens simultaneously.

Cons: Very expensive! You"ll need to talk to a company that specializes in them. For my research, I talked to Planar Technology and they were helpful and great even though they knew I couldn"t buy anything. They make professional grade products, which is important. You don"t want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a product that will break or not be able to hold up to the rigors of a museum environment.

If you’re the owner or manager of a museum, you should know that that installing interactive screens throughout your museum will make the information presented more accessible, more interesting for young people, and more modern. Visitors at your museum will take note of how convenient and easy it was to navigate and understand each exhibit with the help of your interactive touch screen solutions.

Imagine being able to explore the history of each exhibit through the combination of a variety of media. There’s no limit to what you can do with touch screens for museums by Digital Touch Systems. Our touch systems allow total synchronization among all devices, and integration of fully customized features.

However you want the software for your digital screens to work, we can accommodate you with them. Our talented and hardworking touch screen software development crew can make your ideas come to life. Your logo and museum name can be included in each page of your personalized touch screen software. If you choose, you can communicate directly with our touch screen software team to make sure they add all of the functions you want and design it the way you like it.

We can deliver all products straight to your museum. Setting them up takes only minutes. They will include all mounts and everything you need for installation. At Digital Touch Systems, we stand by the quality of our products. Let us provide you with touch screens for museums that bring your displays to life! Take the first step and contact us today!

Museums, art galleries, and special exhibits are using an ever-increasing number of LCD video monitors and touch screens. Use LCD monitors to update or enhance exhibits with live video clips. Similarly, some cycle through a series of still images. Additionally, in attempts to provide a historical perspective, they often choose to use 4:3 aspect ratio monitors.

Firstly, TRU-Vu also provides 4:3 monitors (square monitors) to mimic old television sets.  Secondly, show classic films without distortion or annoying black bars.  Furthermore, the aspect ratio of a LCD display is the proportional relationship of its width compared to its height. The two numbers are commonly separated by a colon. The most common aspect ratios are 16:9 (aka widescreen) and 4:3 (aka square monitor, such as old CRT’s and TV’s). It is best to choose a monitor with the same aspect ratio as your video signal. However, you cannot customize a monitor’s native aspect ratio, so it is critical to know the aspect ratio of your incoming video signal beforehand.

For more modern displays, TRU-Vu provides 16:9 aspect ratio widescreen monitors. These provide the advantages of higher-resolution, digital video inputs, wider viewing angles, and greater longevity.

High brightness Sunlight Readable displays are used in outdoor or very brightly lit indoor areas. With over 1,000 nits of brightness, TRU-Vu Sunlight Readable displays are four times brighter than typical LCD monitors. These high brightness monitors are also used to produce stunning images with maximum visual impact in indoor areas, where maximum impact is desired. TRU-Vu Touch screen monitors are used for interactive displays, control, ticketing kiosks, or communication. Museums choose industrial-grade monitors and touch screens due to their ability to withstand abuse from high numbers of users and their long expected life cycle.

Museum curators often have very specific design concepts for their unique new displays. TRU-Vu Monitors has partnered with numerous prestigious museums and exhibit houses throughout the U.S. and Canada to produce one-of-a-kind custom monitor solutions. These have ranged from modern LCD panels housed in traditional CRT-type enclosures, to traditional 4:3 aspect ratio monitors with modern digital interfaces and state of the art controls.  See some of our most recent collaborations with others in the industry.

Museum curators strive to make their exhibits as authentic to the specific time-period as possible. TRU-Vu has provided a wide range of  custom LCD monitors, high brightness Sunlight Readable monitors, touch screens, and custom retro-look monitors to help achieve that goal for museums throughout the country.

A recent project for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) was to integrate the benefits of the latest LCD monitor technology (superb image quality, 178° x 178° wide viewing angles, HDMI digital video inputs, etc.) into a more traditional 4:3 aspect ratio monitor. The curators wanted to match the LCD display screen size to their media’s native 4:3 aspect ratio in order to display the fully scanned film image without distortion or pillar-boxing.

TRU-Vu has also provided numerous other custom monitors and touch screen solutions for a wide range of museums, art galleries and special exhibits. We have provided custom LCD displays with rugged durability, improved LCD image quality, and digital video inputs inside of a retro-look CRT-type square monitor enclosure. The results were amazing.

If you need any custom or standard video monitor solutions for your exhibit, do not hesitate to contact one of our representatives to learn how we can help turn your imagination into a reality.

TRu-Vu also offers Touch Screen Monitors,Displays, Open–Frame, and 4K Displays. They are all available with 4:3 aspect ratio or 16:9 aspect ratio screens, and standard brightness or Sunlight Readable with at least 1000 nits brightness. All monitors can operate on 12-Custom OEM LCD Displays. Private Label Monitors is also an option. Sort by size of 7-12″, 13.3-19″, 21.5-65″ Industrial Monitors and Touch Screens. TRU-Vu Monitors also offers a wide range of LCD monitor mounts and stands.

Something we’re asked quite often over here at blackbox-av is “what’s the best type of touchscreen technology for use in a museum/heritage environment”, so we thought why not write a post that answers that question!

There are currently 4 main categories of touchscreen technology, Capacitive, Resistive, Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) and Infrared. Although there’s a new kid on the block called Optical Imaging which is gaining in popularity but hasn’t really taken over the more conventional technologies yet, you should certainly watch this space though.

A capacitive touch screen is a control display that uses the conductive touch of a human finger or a specialized device for input.When a capacitive panel is touched, a small amount of charge is drawn to the point of contact, which becomes a functional capacitor.

The change in the electrostatic field is measured to find the location. In some designs, circuits located at each corner of the panel measure the charge and send the information to the controller for processing. In multi-touch screens, sensors are arranged in a grid to enable more complex input.

With resistive technology the main screen is covered with three layers. Two layers are placed over the screen and kept slightly apart, one is conductive and the other resistive, when the screen is touched these panels are pushed together registering the input. A scratch resistant surface completes the setup.

The best thing about resistive touchscreens is their ability to register inputs from any object, be it your finger, a pen or a gloved hand. They are also more accurate than other systems although more prone to damage and less responsive to a lighter touch.

When most people think of Infrared touchscreens they think of the classic 1980’s computers with orange/green text and a massive frame around the monitor, the fact is this technolgy still very much has a place in the modern world, it’s one of the more robust options and works by simply setting up a pattern of criss crossing infrared that when broken registers as an input.

There are a number of drawbacks to this technology however, for example bright lighting can interfere with the beams, as can dust and dirt. It’s most useful for applications outdoors where it can detect any input and not just a ‘conductor’ such as a finger (not in a glove!). However for the average indoor museum exhibit it’s a strong option.

This technology utilises ultrasonic waves that are projected over the front panel, when the panel is touched some of these waves are absorbed and receivers register this change while controllers pinpoint where it happened.

If the panel is touched by a finger which then remains motionless, only the initial touch is registered, this can be a positive or negative depending upon the application, for example it can have an effect on the software used with the screen but makes it perfect for use as a workstation where objects are likely to be rested on the panel, such as a hand or elbow etc.

Until recently this could be a tough question to answer, due to technological restrictions and costs involved, the question of “which touchscreen technology is best for the public environment?”could havebeenanswered in various ways, with the ultimate decision depending on a number of factors.

These days however thanks to technological innovations the answer is practically always Capacitive, there’s a reason almost all modern tablets and phones use this technology. On a larger scale this was once more expensive, so for touch tables you might have been tempted by another option such as Infrared however this is no longer the case.

The only time you will want to use a technology other than Capacitive, is if your touchscreen needs to allow gloved use… for example a touchscreen kiosk installed in an arctic research base…

The 22″ All-In-One Touchscreen/PC provides a simple yet elegant interactive platform for use within public displays. Contending with a separate PC and screen and all the associated cabling can be a thing of the past. This unit is easily installed via Vesa Mount fixings or the (removable) panel fixing wings which make it perfect for custom installations. Build it into practically any unique displays easily and quickly.

Free Standing Multi-Touch Kiosks from blackbox-av combine uncompromising technical performance with outstanding design, elegance and style to provide stand-alone, finger controlled, multi touch interactivity and information to visitors on demand. This is the 22″ ‘Modern’ version in our Free-Standing Range. The Kiosk works perfectly with our off-the-shelf multi touchscreen software, Lightbox 3 (perfect for museum environments).

By combining precision touchscreen technology within a professional-grade large format LCD panel this kiosk is ideal for use in high traffic public access environments. Utilising Capacitive touch technology to ensure reliability throughout extended use, the screen supports up to 10 touches and gesture controls.

Engage visitors with our elegant and ‘Sleek’ range of Multi-Touch table. Choose from a 46″ or 55″ multi-touch screen housed in an attractive white or black table unit. Thanks to the powerful inbuilt computer this system is able to run any windows 10 multi touchscreen software including off-the-shelf solutions such as our very own Lightbox 3 software or any bespoke interactives developed for your chosen application.

What use is a touchscreen without software to use with it? Which is why we not only supply cost effective hardware options, but have also developed Lightbox 3, our multitouch off-the-shelf interactive software package perfect for use in Museum environments.

Thanks to the wide range of sizes available and the high-resolution support of those devices (e.g. 768p, 1920~1200 pixels), faytech’s capacitive touch monitors are the perfect choice for a wide range of applications, including but not limited to POS systems, kiosk systems, for office/residence automation and as control panels in industrial fields.

All our Capacitive touch screens are made of an industrial A+ HD LCD capacitive multi-touch panel with energy-saving LED technology and a wide viewing angle. These characteristics make faytech Capacitive touch displays perfect solutions when it comes to fashion shows, industrial 4.0 projects, dealerships, wayfinding, supermarkets, sports arenas, interactive visualizations, and digital signage.

The potential use cases of those units are almost infinite. For residencies, condominiums, or apartment lobbies, the Capacitive Touch Monitors could be used as interfaces or as part of a residential automation system. In hotels, these capacitive touch screen monitors could help enhance communications between staff and residents, as well as being part of a security automation system. Beyond residential and hosteling settings, faytech capacitive touch displays would be a great addition to any educational system, being used to improve interactions between students and professors in classrooms, for personnel management, and as interfaces to plan and communicate about curricular and extracurricular events. Faytech Capacitive Touch Monitors are also a great option to make scheduling and inventory management easier, whether in a private company or a public/educational setting.

In retail environments like mall shops and department stores, the technologies provided by faytech Capacitive Touch Monitors will be a great addition not only for customers, helping them to easily check inventory details without having to ask store personnel, but also for managers, being an easy way to cut back on operating costs. One of the multiple advantages of our capacitive touch screens is that they can be easily integrated with external software applications that, in turn, can allow customers to try demo versions of the products or services they contemplate purchasing. All in all, faytech capacitive touch monitors can serve as a great interactive medium to facilitate the purchasing process and multiply your sales.

While faytech Capacitive Touch Monitors can for sure be used for single-touch applications, these touch devices truly shine in more complex use scenarios. These include for instance directories or maps, when the user may have to use finger-scroll, pinch-zoom, and panning functions. Indeed, one of the main differences between Resistive touch monitors and capacitive touch monitors concerns touch technology. While resistive touch monitors are most of the time equipped with a single touch panel, the capacitive touch monitors are on the other side built to effectively register multi-touch, going as high as ten touches at the same time! It is now even possible to use Capacitive Touch Monitors when wearing heavy gloves, which is a significant upgrade given that this feature was formerly the preserve of Touch Monitors using Resistive-touch technology. Thanks to their patented IP65 front with silicone seal, faytech Capacitive Touch Monitor also work under heavy rain, which makes them adapted to use in semi-outdoor environments.

Worth noting, Capacitive Touch screens can most of the time be divided into two sub-categories: Projected Capacitive Touch Screens (PCAP) and Surface Touch Screens.

Based on projected technology, faytech Capacitive Touch Monitors are suitable for use in some highly specialized industries, including the aerospace (including but not limited to avionic systems), medical, military, and industrial ones (serving for example as an automated equipment control). Particularly, the main advantages of faytech Projected Capacitive Touch Monitors concerning these specific industries are the variety of layers stack-up options available, resulting in unparalleled durability and color perception. The Capacitive Touch Monitors manufactured by faytech respond to all the obligations induced by such demanding industries, thanks to several outstanding features. Those include:

Along with these peculiar applications, faytech Capacitive Touch Screens are also ideally fitted for high usage environments when based on surface technology.

Indeed, this technology stands out thanks to the high environmental robustness and increased resilience it offers. Monitors equipped with such a technology are vandal proof and can be used in areas with high traffic, serving in museums as an interactive display for instance. For example, it is now common to find such devices in electronic voting machines, an application in which security is key. Whether they come with a curved or flat surface, these devices are a perfect fit for any graphic-driven applications, such as ATMs (automated teller machines), game consoles, entertainment (including smartphones, tablets, and personal computers), banking, kitchen appliances, automobiles, and automats.

Technically speaking, on top of the front surface is applied a conductive coating, itself composed of wires connected to every four corners where a small voltage is applied. The system relies on the “capacitance” of the human body, which is to say that when one touches the screen, a small current flows to the touchpoint, generating a voltage drop detected at the corners.

This functioning makes screen surface technology more fitted to use on larger size (i.e. over 12 inches) applications. Besides, the single glass layer structure allows these devices to have excellent optical clarity and high light transmission (from 88 up to 92 percent). Of all the available technologies, it has the fastest touch response time. These monitors can also withstand regular cleaning using harsh chemicals. All in all, these functionalities make the capacitive touch monitors using surface technology especially suitable for commercial uses, such as the ones that we mentioned before.

On top of the potential use cases presented in this section, our Capacitive Touch Monitors can easily be integrated into any conceivable application and setup. Faytech NA is specialized in custom-made solutions and we will be glad to help you find the best Capacitive Touch Monitor for your specific needs and applications. Don’t hesitate to contact us to talk with one of our Capacitive Touch Screen Monitor specialists.

Touch panels have been evolving quickly and touchscreen technologies are becoming ever more sensitive to interactions with something as simple as the human finger.

The following are some important points regarding our touch panel company and some of the ways we are developing surface capacitive touch panel displays and devices.

A capacitive touchscreen can be found in many devices ranging from mobile phones to large touch panels to projected capacitive displays to kiosks with surface capacitance technology.

faytech NA specializes in the design, development, manufacturing, and marketing of specific computing solutions such as Touchscreen Desktops and Displays for Capacitive, Embedded, Industrial, Resistive, Rugged, Sunlight Readable, High Brightness, Open Frame, Kiosks and Accessories.

faytech NA currently manufactures 7–22” Monitors, 8–19” PCs, and the 32–42–55” PC LFT Series. Additionally, we have developed our own proprietary PC motherboard, which is manufactured exclusively by ASUS.

Whether it is finding the ideal product for your business, to the installation of the products or to technical support, our entire team works hard to always provide our customers with the best products and service on the market.

At faytech North America, we guarantee customer satisfaction. Our staff is fully trained and knowledgeable about every product we offer, ready to assist you with whatever information is needed. Feel free to contact us at any time with any questions, or to learn more about a faytech NA high-quality display solutions for your unique company.

Thanks to the accurate touch sensors, capacitive touch screen monitors are implemented as a viable solution for situations where the mouse and keyboard systems cannot be used as suitably accurate. Capacitive touch panel touchscreens offer a rapid, or intuitive means of interaction with the content on the screen.

Touchscreens with controller-based firmware and touch sensor have been made available, historically, by a various after-market system integrators, and not by the  motherboard, chip, and display manufacturers.

However, chip and touchscreen manufacturers worldwide have acknowledged in the last few years the trend toward a wide acceptance of touch-friendly interface components as a highly desirable alternative and have begun to integrate this technology into the design of their products.

A capacitive touch screen monitor can be used similar to a keyboard that is invisible since it displays only as many button choices and as much data as users need to complete a particular task.

This is one of the reasons why touch panels are increasing in popularity in various applications from industrial machinery to kiosks and mobile phones.

In selecting the most suitable monitor for your application, the most important decision is in regard to the type of touch screen technology to use. Touch panels and touchscreens come in several types based on a few different technologies, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

A touch screen monitor is made of insulating material covered with transparent conductors. The most common material used as an insulator is glass. As a transparent conductor, indium tin oxide is usually used.

The resulted electric distortion is measured as a change in capacitance. In order to identify the touch display’s locations in a way can be used in various technologies, the location is then sent for processing to the controller of the capacitive touchscreen.

The difference from a resistive touch screen, is that users cannot work with a capacitive touchscreen through gloves and other types of electrically insulating material. In consumer electronics, this is a disadvantage because these smartphone and touch tablet PCs cannot be used in cold weather. However, this disadvantage can be overcome with a special-application glove or a special stylus.

The top manufacturers of capacitance displays continue to develop more accurate and thinner touch screens. For instance, by building the capacitors inside the display itself, mobile devices such as Samsung’s Super AMOLED screens are being produced now with “in-cell” technology that eliminates a layer.

This reduces the visible distance between what the user is touching on the screen and the user’s finger, enabling gestures and taps to be more responsive and creating a more direct contact with the content displayed.

Touch screens based on projected technology deliver interactive solutions for various applications and industries including aerospace, medical, military, and industrial.

Multi-touch projected technology has changed forever the way we interact with machines since the iPhone exploded on the market in the year 2007. Touch monitors with projected technology offer many substrate choices and stack-up options, delivering unmatched durability and outstanding optics.

The more common approach is based now on mutual capacitance. If they are placed close together, the majority of objects with conductive proprieties can hold a charge. When another conductive object bridges the gap (a finger, for example), the interrupted charge field is being detected by the micro-controller.

Surface technology offers environmental robustness and increased durability. These monitors are proven to meet the harsh demands found in vandal prone access sectors, and areas with high traffic.

Curved and flat surface touch screens are suitable for graphic driven applications, such as vending machines, entertaining, gaming, banking, and ATMs. Itcomes with a conductive coating on top of the front surface. The conductive coating features wires connected to each corner. To each of these four corners is applied a small voltage. The operation is based on surface technology relies on the capacitance of the human body. A small current flows to the point when you touch the screen, causing a voltage drop that is then sensed at corners.

This screen surface technology can be used easily on a larger size (over 12 inches) applications. Because the structure is only one glass layer, they provide high light transmission (in the range of 88 to 92 percent) and excellent optical clarity. Of all the available technologies, it has the fastest touch response time. These monitors can also withstand regular cleaning using harsh chemicals.

Because the touch screen display is based on a durable technology, they can be employed in applications that require increased durability. Among their areas of application are included point-of-sale systems, kiosks, and industrial computer machinery. Another advantage is that they have a higher clarity than resistive-type (higher by 88-92 percent).

Interface: Your computer should communicate with the touch screen panels. The most common interface types USB and RS-232. The need for drivers has been eliminated by new HID-compliant touchscreen displays.

Mounting: Among the various mounting options are included free-standing, rack mount, and panel mount. In case that you want to use free-standing, make sure that you use a heavy-duty stand that was specifically designed for touch.

Your decision to select a certain type of display will be based on various factors, including where it will be mounted, the intended users, type of data to be displayed (text, graphics, video), and the operating environment. They can be a great addition to your business if chosen correctly.

faytech North America’s capacitive touch screen monitor solutions will enhance an organization’s productivity. Contact us today to speak with our capacitive touch screen monitor specialists.

To help guide and educate visitors through their current exhibits, MCA have integrated the InTouch 22” and 32” touch screens throughout the museum. Every detail of the museum’s appearance is important, and the attractive pure flat edge-to-edge industrial glass and brushed silver trim fit nicely into the building’s newly renovated style.

We’re proudly Australian owned and operated, offering local support and expert advice. With extensive experience delivering and supporting hardware solutions to some of Australia’s leading companies, our local manufacturing strategy gives us full control of the quality, timing and  customisation which ensures a smooth roll-out every time. Many of Australia’s leading museums have chosen to work with InTouch for their touch screen solutions.

Exactly. These analog control panels had been facing challenges in working efficiency and investment cost. As touch screens have been introduced, the control system became much easier to use. Touch screen display shows not only switches and lamps, but also graphics, characters and/or alarm signals. So, factory workers are able to check the operation status at the same time as operating the control equipment. In addition, touch screen saved space and costs by eliminating switches, buttons, and wiring.

environments, museums, hotels, television studios, and conference centers. Broadly speaking, they can be found wherever one wants to engage with members

The technology behind multi-touch screens was first developed in the early 1980s. Their original intent was to enable designers to manipulate computer graphics with their fingers. In the years that followed, technology evolved quickly, giving rise to touchscreens on PDAs, personal computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Thanks to the meteoric rise and popularity of tablets and smartphones, even the most non-technical of consumers quickly became to interactive touchscreen display usage. It has not gotten to the point where interactive DOOH displays are expected and where static signage can lead to frustration. Undeniably, large-format multi-touch screen technology has become a widely used tool in the fields of collaborative design, medicine, and education.

Speaking more precisely about touchscreen technology, as stated by Computer World,, “not all touches are created equal”. There are several touch technologies available on the market, including surface-based touch technologies such as resistive and capacitive detection, and perimeter-based technologies such as infrared and optical detection.

The number of touchscreen manufacturers has grown significantly. For example, Samsung now ships low cost, all-in-one touch displays, the Tizen-based SMART Signage Platform, using projected capacitive (PCAP) technology. AOpen – an electronic manufacturer headquartered in Taiwan - is bringing Chrome-based devices to the masses with the all-in-one Chromebase. And the Shenzhen factories in China are producing an unprecedented number of Android-based displays.

A simple search on Alibaba shows almost 600 suppliers selling 47K (yes, that’s right!) "different" models of Android-based kiosks starting as low as $150. The touch display market itself is estimated to reach ! The era of interactive displays is now and - if you"re reading this - now is the time to be bold and take a leap using interactive content.

Just as one might expect for emerging technology, the initial cost of interactive displays was initially quite high. Since then, however, the cost has dropped significantly. You can now find a very good quality 42-inch multi-touch display for under $1500. As mentioned before, you can even find Android-based kiosks at a price as low as $150.

The remaining hurdle preventing companies from exploring the use of interactive displays was the programming expense. For virtually any touch-first application, code would need to be written, adding a services cost that could easily reach six figures.

Now, thanks to specialized platforms like Intuiface, businesses of any size can create functional and attractive interactive applications for any audience without having to write a single line of code. Intuiface touchscreen software works perfectly with any of the hardware options mentioned above. Within it you can choose from preexisting templates or start from scratch to create a design using your own content, tailored to any screen size for any Windows, iPad, Android, Chrome or Samsung SSP device. You can even combine multiple screens in one application to create an interactive display wall. And with capabilities like remote deployment, scheduling and the ability to track events to identify user preferences, even the most agile business can begin building interactive experiences with an all-but-guaranteed ROI. The cost? Simply a licensing fee, no services at all.

With all of these advancements in touch-first technology at incredibly affordable prices, it"s now much easier for virtually any business or organization to introduce interactive displays in their environment.

Teguar provides touch screen computers and monitors that are built to last, even in the harshest settings. With durable, IP65 rated front panels, Teguar Interactive Displays are ideal for touchscreen applications in public areas, such as restaurant ordering boards and interactive venue maps. They are also suited for applications in high traffic areas where hundreds of users may interact with the touchscreen daily, including employee clock-in/out and interactive room signage. For outdoor interactive displays, Teguar has computers that are fully waterproof, have high-brightness screens for readability in sunlight, and can operate in a wide temperature range.

Interactive displays can come in two forms: all-in-one panel PC, or rugged box PC plus industrial monitor. Both forms provide high processing power and rugged bezels. Teguar provides interactive displays that are fanless and fully sealed, allowing them to function in dusty or dirty environments and protecting the system’s internal parts from sprays or spills. Teguar industrial computers are available with resistive touchscreens, which are highly durable and will register touch, even if the user is wearing gloves. Or, Teguar’s panel PCs can have a projective capacitive touchscreen, which allows multiple users to use the touch screen at once.

Teguar’s interactive displays can be found all over the world in settings including museums, amusement parks, conference rooms, restaurants, and even inside a monkey habitat, where primatologists are using innovative touchscreen technology to research and interact with primates. Whatever your application, Teguar has an interactive display that can provide a long-lasting, reliable solution.

Science fiction has always served as a window into a potential future, namely in the way of technology. But what was once regulated to episodes of Star Trek is quickly becoming the stuff of reality. Many fixtures of these kinds of shows and books have begun to inspire real-life counterparts, including - but not limited to - touchscreen technology.

One only has to look at how far cell phones have come since their inception. Physical keyboards, like those from BlackBerry, gave people about as much of a solution as is possible for those who found themselves doing more on the devices as they became more advanced. Where tactile options came up short, touchscreens graciously stepped up to bat, providing a much fuller experience. This kind of functionality then spread to tablets, which are considered by many to be rivals of laptops and even standard PCs.

While there are still some things that are best done on a desktop computer, that does not change the fact that many users find themselves longing for the same abilities on their PCs afforded by many of their mobile devices. This is what helped breed the touchscreen monitor market, which has many viable options for people seeking the best of both worlds. With stronger computing power and a finer ability to control actions occurring in the screen, users can get more work done in new and exciting ways.

Traditionally, computer mice are what have allowed us to "touch" in a virtual context, but touchscreen monitors are changing all that. It might be said that the reason that mice were used in the first place was because the technology had not evolved to a responsive enough level to enable that natural solution. Now that people have the touchscreen technology, they want it everywhere.

If one thing is for certain, it is that the burgeoning adoption of touchscreen technology is no fad. Proliferation has already come too far to turn back now, and computer manufacturers are taking notice. Everyone is trying to get a piece of the action, including ELO Touch Solutions, Laiputuo Electronics, Planar, HP, 3M, Touch Systems, ViewSonic, Dell and ACER as well. Getting into the touchscreen monitor game is a no-brainer for the companies involved in this generation of computing. With so many different applications made for touchscreen monitors, options exist for all sorts of interested parties.

Touchscreen monitors are becoming the new standard in both private and enterprise settings. Here are some of the ways they can be leveraged effectively for business: touchscreen monitors for workstations, touchscreen monitors for hospitals, and touchscreen monitors for POS systems.

Newegg offers a large selection of touchscreen monitors which vary according to the type from 5-wire Resistive touchscreen monitors, and Accu Touch touchscreen monitors, to Capacitive touchscreen monitors, and more. Newegg’s wide selections will definitely meet your needs.

DISPLAX TILE is the easiest way to implement touch video walls both for signage and collaboration markets, combining great functionalities with great sleek design.

It’s designed for professional integrators, allowing them to turn their LG UHD displays into truly touch-responsive experiences, delivering reliable and superior commercial-grade products.

DISPLAX has a complete product range offer of both customizable and standard touchscreen solutions for different markets such as retail, hospitality, entertainment, transportation, health care, corporate, education and many others.

DISPLAX has a complete product range offer of both customizable and standard touchscreen solutions for different markets such as retail, hospitality, entertainment, transportation, health care, corporate, education and many others.

Museum touchscreen monitors have revolutionized the ways in which museum patrons view and interact with exhibits. In the past, patrons were encouraged to passively receive the information that was presented to them, and they were discouraged from touching any of the interesting artifacts that stood before them. This method of learning, while sensible and crucial for the preservation of these artifacts, was ineffectual and even dull in many ways. People, especially children, who have a developing sense of wonder and curiosity, learn at different paces and in different ways. While not all of us require hands-on experiences to learn and absorb information, some of us do, and that is why it is important for museums to step into the 21st century and adopt museum touchscreen monitors and displays that accommodate and appeal to all learning types.

Interactive touchscreens in museums are integral parts of the learning process because they offer both a verbal and pictorial method of learning that was not previously available. Even though museums have always had exhibits and historical objects on display, it can sometimes be difficult to render the full effect of what you are looking at through a glass display case. Labels are usually helpful, but they can be hard to read if the glass is dirty or the print is too small for those who have trouble with vision. Interactive museum touchscreens offer a palpable solution to this problem while also creating an environment of active learning through participation.

Many modern museum touchscreen displays include multilingual options so that visitors can view and listen to the information in whatever language they choose. This can also provide opportunities for visitors to take an interest in learning new languages through active listening and digital pictorial representations.

For those who are hard of hearing or seeing, museum touchscreen monitors and kiosks make it easier to follow along with the information being presented. People with trouble with vision can usually zoom in and out of the screen in order to expand the images or the words on the screen to make them more easily visible. People who are hard of hearing can wear headphones and increase the volume to their desired level.

Of course, museum touchscreens are also highly advantageous for the profitability of the museum itself. When they are in idle mode, they can display advertisements for other museum attractions, such as restaurants, gift shops, or cafes. In some instances, if the museum is so inclined, they can even double as point-of-sale machines for the paid services offered in the museum. This can help to speed up the process of purchasing merchandise, beverages, or meals from the museum and, in turn, increase sales while reducing wait times during busy periods.

On that note, museum touchscreen monitors can also serve the purpose of announcing upcoming museum-related events to catch the attentions of passersby. The advantage of this is that it will attract the attention of patrons as they pass by an exhibit and it might even cause them to pause and look at an exhibit they might have otherwise ignored or not noticed.

Nauticomp Inc.’s designs industrial touchscreen monitors that are water-proof, sunlight-readable, and compatible with multiple input components. They also feature dim-red capability, LED backlighting, optically bonded glass and enhanced temperature ranges which perfectly suit the needs of every museum. For more information, please contact us.

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Last May, when the seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and early nineteenth-century period rooms in the "old" American Wing building (1924) reopened after several years of renovation, visitors noticed many changes. Some were huge—we had removed several rooms and moved or replaced others—while some were more subtle, like the new lighting. Still others, like the new air handling, electrical wiring, and fire suppression systems, were nearly invisible to the public. But one major change couldn"t be ignored: There were computers in the period rooms! The touch-screen monitors, mounted on the rooms" barriers or in the walls of an adjoining space, are the product of many years of work by a large group of talented and creative people, all with various specialties. The team included curators, researchers, educators, editors, software designers, computer hardware and wiring specialists, all working in concert to produce a new way of communicating information to the public.

In the past, most of our labels were printed on large rectangles of paper, backed with a board and affixed to the room barrier. (This type of label can still be seen in our later nineteenth-century rooms, which are installed in an area of the American Wing that has not yet been wired for electronics.) Because of their relatively small size, the old labels limited the amount of information we could relay about a room. They were also often hard to read, both due to small type size (we curators wanted to get in as much information as possible!) and low lighting. In many of the rooms, the only source of light—on the ceiling above and behind the viewer—was blocked by the shadow of that viewer leaning over to read a label.

As the period room curator in the American Wing for many years, I had long been frustrated by the fact that a small, paper label couldn"t possibly accommodate the many stories that each room has to tell: the unique history and architectural relevance, the interesting family associations, and the information about each object within the room. As a curator and educator, I also know it is very important to explain how each room came to the Museum and which of its aspects are documented fact versus educated conjecture.

How could we convey all this information? A computer screen seemed like a natural choice. It could accommodate as much as we wanted to say about the room, and make that information easily accessible. Touch-screen technology has become generally recognized and accepted, but would a computer be too intrusive and break the spell of the room"s ability to transport the viewer back in time, which is, after all, the magic of our rooms?

My colleagues and I carefully assessed this idea of mixing the past and the present. We struggled with issues of monitor size and number of monitors per room. We initially planned to put two small computers in each room, but concluded that two would be overkill in many of our very intimately scaled rooms and decided instead to use one larger screen. We were concerned about the brightness of the screen in the evocative, dimly lit interiors, and made sure that the background of the screen was a quiet, dark blue. We chose not to have any sound component so there wouldn’t be any distracting noise within the room, or a cacophony of competing soundtracks from multiple rooms. We also added small, traditional signs in each room stating the room’s name, original location, and date in case there are visitors who choose not to use the screens, or, by some fluke, a computer wasn’t working. Luckily, our screens have proved to be very robust over the last year.

Visitors to the newly installed period rooms have almost universally applauded the touch-screen labels, both for the additional information they provide and for how easy they are to use. Based on our continuous efforts to improve the experience further, we are contemplating adding second monitors in some of our larger rooms, and, eventually, we plan to migrate the content from the touch screens to www.metmuseum.org so that visitors can view the information before and after their trip to the Museum. In the meantime, we hope that everyone will visit the newly refurbished American Wing rooms and try the touch screens in person. And stay tuned for more new computers with information about the entire American Wing collection, which will be available to the public in 2012 in the Luce Study Center.

“KODEX enabled us to create an immersive, interactive exhibit that is engaging and informative. Visitors learn about our capabilities through the intuitive multi-media displays, and as our capabilities grow, KODEX lets us easily update our content to reflect the latest technologies. Pair this with your world-class responsiveness, and you have a winner!”