Phi Bui of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music plays the LinnStrument at the Printed Electronics USA event, a one-of-a-kind expressive, polyphonic multi-dimensional MIDI controller. At the heart of the LinnStrument is a custom touch sensor designed by Roger Linn Design and fabricated by Tangio Printed Electronics. Like any fine musical instrument, LinnStrument must have highly consistent touch sensitivity across its surface, and this is provided by Tangio’s precise fabrication process. LinnStrument’s patent-pending multi-touch technology captures three dimensions of each finger’s movement, polyphonically. As a solution for haptic and expressive input in automotive, consumer electronics and medical devices, Tangio Printed Electronics, creates flexible 3D touch sensors that can be inside the most advanced, touch-sensing products in the world.
The core technology of Tangio’s 3D Touch sensor is that of the Force-sensing resistor. Force-sensing resistors are an evolution of membrane switch technology, based on the same user interface design principals and made using similar manufacturing techniques. The force sensor is essentially an analog, multi-position switch, while the membrane switch is simply ON/OFF. What defines a force-sensing resistor is its unique characteristic of dynamic conductance / resistance relative to the amount of pressure applied to the device. In general, the more pressure applied to the surface of the sensor, the greater the conductance / the lower the resistance.
Force-sensing resistors are used for qualitative rather than quantitative or precision measurements. They are found in a wide range of industry applications: automotive, human interface devices, toys, medical equipment, musical instruments, sporting equipment and safety equipment.
This video also features an interview with the National Research Council Canada. The National Research Council (NRC) is the Government of Canada’s organization for research and development. NRC’s Printable Electronics (PE) initiative coordinates key industrial areas – materials, ink, printing, and packaging – as a springboard for a profitable, large-scale PE sector. For more information see http://www.tangio.co, http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/solutions/collaborative/pe_index.html and http://www.IDTechEx.com
