AD Metro

Touch Base┬áTouchscreens are so user-friendly itÔÇÖs easy to overlook the technology behind them. AD MetroÔÇÖs Albert David told Ruari McCallion about the current state of the market and future developments. TodayÔÇÖs battlefields are hotbeds of electronics, but some things remain constant. They are dirty and dangerous places, where everything is treated roughly.    Technology is a great servant but it has to be able to withstand dirt, shocks and general beating up. The latest generation of equipment features rugged touchscreens that can stand up to everything that can be thrown at them, remaining reliable and functioning in the most extreme conditions. For that, they can thank ULTRA technology, pioneered and developed by AD Metro, of Ottawa, Canada.ÔÇ£ULTRA is our flagship, armored resistive technology for touchscreens,ÔÇØ said Albert David, founder and CEO of AD Metro. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs really toughÔÇöIÔÇÖve demonstrated that by hitting it with a hammer in front of customers.ÔÇØ But itÔÇÖs about more than toughness. Electronic equipment gives off RF radiation as a matter of routine, which enemy forces will do their utmost to detect and use to pinpoint positions to launch attacks. ÔÇ£ULTRA provides EMI (electro-magnetic impulse) shielding, also. In that respect, itÔÇÖs more about stealth than EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) protection.ÔÇØ EMP is used to knock out electronics, both communication and vehicle and aircraft control systems, so protection against it is important, too.ULTRA is a composite product, made up of a micro-thin sheet of borosilicate glass laminated to the ITO polyester top sheet thatÔÇÖs typically used in the construction of resistive touch sensors. ÔÇÿResistiveÔÇÖ means that the screen reacts to pressure, by detecting variations in the electric field through the flow of current through transparent conductive coatings between two layers within the screen. The variation is detected along the x and y axes and the position of the finger or stylus is calculated by the interface electronics and reported to the computerÔÇÖs GUI. AD MetroÔÇÖs patented ULTRA process produces a flexible glass membrane which is scratch resistant, waterproof and impervious to chemicals, fire and stylus use. As well as military and industrial uses, it can put up with even sterner tests, in mobile devices, medical applications and even public kiosks ÔÇô perhaps the most hostile environment there is. The road to ULTRA has been quite long and began with necessity, which is the mother of invention, as the old saying goes. ÔÇ£When we started developing touchscreen technology in 1995 there were other established companies in the field, such as Tyco and 3M, through Microtouch,ÔÇØ said David. ÔÇ£It was quite a vertical industry at that time; Canada was a pretty small market and was served by corporate resellers. We could only get touchscreen displays at the same price as they were sold direct, so it was very difficult for us to compete in integrating the technology into our displays. Even the ÔÇÿgray marketÔÇÖ couldnÔÇÖt help muchÔÇöit wasnÔÇÖt a reliable enough source of supply for our needs.ÔÇØ At the time, AD Metro was engaged in providing POS (point of sale) equipment, in which touchscreen technology was pretty key. Faced with all these challenges, David and his company wondered how difficult it would be to develop something similar to the equipment the big two were manufacturing and supplying. Quite difficult, it transpired.ÔÇ£We started manufacturing in 1995 but it took two years to develop usable technology,ÔÇØ he said. ÔÇ£The CRT monitors, which were all we had back then, have curvature and that was difficult to do. Resistive technology has a conductive coating on the inside of a second surface; the two were held apart by small resin micro dots. Press the two surfaces together and the current flows. To take that and bend it for CRT you have to firm up polyester sheets and shape them to fit; it was very hard to do.ÔÇØ Sourcing of materials was, in his words, horrendously difficult. The core suppliers of the specialized technology to the two manufacturers were few in number and difficult to traceÔÇöand when they did find them, they were pretty tight-lipped, as well. But those issues were overcome. ÔÇ£We were finally able to do it and operated pretty well and successfully for 18 months to two years until the CRT market fell through the floor,ÔÇØ David said, with a rueful smile in his voice. Flatscreens donÔÇÖt have the curvature challenges but they have their own issues. LCD displays donÔÇÖt like extremes of temperature and moisture affects their performance, for exampleÔÇöand the boom in that market proved to be short-lived. Once the Far Eastern manufacturers got hold of them, prices dropped and margins were squeezed out of existence. But AD Metro has proved itself able to rise to challenges, time and again.ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve now moved away from the commodity-type markets, like restaurant POS units,ÔÇØ said David. ÔÇ£Our markets now are about specialty, innovation and design. The military prefers glass, because polyester isnÔÇÖt suited to outside use and isnÔÇÖt resistant enough to scratches; our borosilicate glass, which we use in ULTRA, is resistant to all of them and to chemicals and moisture, also. Almost every major military display application is now supplied with our technology.ÔÇØ Most of the major military contractors worldwide are customers of AD Metro. Its equipment is used in cargo-calculator handhelds on aircraft like the C10 Galaxy. ItÔÇÖs also found on helicopters in Germany, battle tanks in Germany and Belgium, in portable battlefield logistics systems, in naval applications and in targeting systems. ULTRA has options available such as heated and cooling mullions to keep the liquid crystal in the displays within operating temperatures, in environments ranging from minus 40 to plus 60 degrees centigrade. All this from a company with just 19 employees in Ottawa and revenues of C$7.5 millionÔÇöalthough it is growing at 100 percent a year, and has recently established a joint venture with a company in Taiwan. ÔÇ£We have innovations in development that will take us further and maintain our leadership in our chosen markets,ÔÇØ said David. ÔÇ£But I canÔÇÖt tell you exactly what they are, just yet.ÔÇØ So watch the space where AD Metro is operatingÔÇöit should be interesting.┬á