NEW MILITARY TOUCHSCREEN WITH PROGRAMMABLE "HOT KEYS"

Although recognised as a primary manufacturer of electronic components such as rotary switches and silicon keypads currently installed in communication equipment and in use by the military throughout the world, Wessex Advanced Switching Products (WASP) have designed a system to meet future needs.

While the ultra-reliable ‘fit and forget’ switches and keypads will continue to play an essential role in military equipment and radios in particular, WASP have progressed to the design, development and manufacture of a new touchscreen which has been well received by equipment manufacturers looking for the next generation of switching products.

Meeting all of the primary requirements of military equipment components in terms of ruggedness, reliability and battlefield performance, the new touchscreen design offers all the benefits of ease of use, with the added opportunities to programme in specific actions which can be activated by push buttons mounted in the surround as an integral part of the screen. This enables the user to use ‘hot’ switches without interrupting the screen’s imagery. All of the actions can be carried out by a gloved hand.

Having been tested successfully, the new touchscreen designs can be adapted to meet the requirements of almost any application. Planned as the next generation of military capable human/machine interfaces (HMI), this new design enables the use of sophisticated graphics in addition to performing the more basic functions.