The underwater touchscreen

Presto helped OPDI Technologies A/S in the effort to find customers and investors to make a brilliant idea become reality.

Revolutionary new touch technology

At the beginning of 2013, DELTA by Presto Engineering and OPDI Technologies A/S entered into a strategic partnership for the manufacture of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Presto helped in the effort to find customers and investors to make a brilliant idea become reality.

The efforts paid off, with the establishment of O-Net WaveTouch Ltd. and in the spring of 2014, came the first finished display module for a touchscreen that works when wet.

The idea of a touchscreen that could work when it was wet came to Jørgen Korsgaard, CEO of OPDI Technologies A/S and O-Net WaveTouch Ltd., when he noticed his new cooker did not work when it was wet.

In collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark’s department of Photonics Engineering he tried to develop an optic-based technology for touchscreens.

The collaboration resulted in several patents, meaning that in the future touch sensitive screens and displays may be much cheaper to manufacture and will have even more applications.

Strategic partner with know-how and an excellent network

When Presto and Jørgen Korsgaard met, the potential for both parties were obvious. Presto put Jørgen in touch with a number of investors and the specifications were implemented into an ASIC.

“What Jørgen needed was money. We had to find the right customers and above all, an investor. Then, all we needed was to make an ASIC first time right to finish the product concept on time, which we knew, we could do.

The challenge was, that here was a developer who didn’t have any money. How could we make it all come together?

We used our network, and OPDI Technologies A/S and Chinese O-Net Group ended up establishing O-Net WaveTouch Ltd.”,

says Gert Jørgensen, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Presto Engineering.

A touchscreen based on light

The majority of touchscreens commonly used in tablets and smartphones today are based on capacitance sensing technology.

The sensor part is based on two layers of the translucent metal indium that are used to create an array of capacitance detectors, where the finger is placed on the touchscreen.

O-Net WaveTouch technology is based on light. Several optical sensors in the ASIC sample the light, and a microprocessor calculates the coordinates for where the user’s finger is touching the screen.

A combination of ingenious engineering and unique know-how has meant that O-Net WaveTouch technology is sustainable, profitable, and flexible.

The ASIC and microprocessor are flexibly connected and can be used for smartphones and larger devices like tablets. They can be implemented in all forms of display and screen – depending on the size.