TUI

Dans le numéro de mai 2009 Enjeux – Les Echos titre « Pourquoi le tactile s’imposera » sans point d’interrogation ce qui en dit long sur la certitude avec laquelle ce nouveau type d’interaction va s’imposer.

Les TUI (Touch User Interface) font l’objet de bon nombre de recherches (Microsoft avec surface, Windows 7 et Silverlight, Apple, Facebook, …). Enjeux-Les Echos cite la « bande passante interactionnelle exceptionnelle de la main » qui avec 5 doigts donne 21 degrés de liberté. Faire le point sur les TUI devient nécessaire.

Both DisplaySearch(1) and iSuppli(2) report that the touchscreen market is forecasted for double-digit growth over the next three years. DisplaySearch's May 2008 report forecasts gro with between 2008 and 2015 at 12 percent increase in unit sales and a 20 percent increase in revenue. iSuppli's May 2008 report forecasts growth between 2008 and 2012 at 25 percent increase in units and 17 percent when it comes to revenue. Primary market drivers accelerating this growth include reduction of labor costs through customer self-service and the availability of new user interfaces that utilize touch technology.

Touch Screen Market to Reach $3.3 Billion by 2015

A new report from DisplaySearch says that the touch panel market is on track to grow to $3.3 million and 660 million units by 2015.

The iPhone demonstrated how multi-touch technology is enabling a new generation of user interfaces," explains Chris Crotty, Direc

tor of Small and Medium Displays Research at DisplaySearch. Crotty adds, "High volume mobile phone shipments will drive down the cost of touch technology and thereby enable it to spread more rapidly into other devices such as portable media players, digital cameras and others." In a market historically dominated by so-called resistive touch technology, AppleÃ's iPhone uses a different technology called projected capacitance that enabled the multi-touch functionality that had been lacking in resistive-based touch panels. Projected capacitance is one of about a dozen technologies vying for market

dominance.

Each technology has advantages and drawbacks. Some, like resistive touch technology, have been available for many years while others, like digital waveguide, are relative newcomers improving on previous generations. Key display suppliers, like Sharp and TMDisplay, are scrambling to develop so-called in-cell optical touch technology that embeds photo sensors directly into LCDs. By integrating the touch function directly into an LCD, display suppliers hope to capture a larger share of available revenue. Currently, touch panels feature separate panels or sensors placed on top of or around the actual display.

Other key findings from the report include

• Mobile phones will account for 34% and 21% of all touch panel shipments and revenues, respectively, during the forecast period. Shipments of touch enabled mobile phones will reach 223 million units by 2015.
  
• Despite the emergence of competing technologies, resistive touch solutions will retain 86% share of shipments during the forecast period. However, resistive revenue share will drop from 78% in 2007 to 64% in 2015.
  
• The overall average selling price of touch panels will actually increase nearly 8% between 2007 and 2015. In many applications, increases in panel sizes and functionality mix will offset price declines for older panels.

Touchscreen expected to be adopted by 20% of handsets in 2009

The touchscreen market has a huge potintial for growth, spurring a flood of competition, technologies and OEM interest, concluded the report "Touch Screens:

The Right Touch for High Growth" by Jennifer Colegrove, iSuppli Corp. senior analyst for emerging displays.

The report predicted global shipment revenue for the leading touchscreen technologies will rise to Rs.17,370.49 crore ($4.4 billion) by 2012, up from Rs.9,474.81 crore ($2.4 billion) in 2006 (see Figure).

"Catalyzed by Apple Inc.’s iPhone, sales of touchscreens using projected-capacitive technology are growing dramatically," said Colegrove. "Projected-capacitive touchscreen technology is more durable and has better transmittance than the more commonly used resistive technology. More touchscreen manufacturers are developing and commercialising this type of screen. Furthermore, the average pricing gap between the capacitive and resistive display types is dwindling, making the technology more attractive."

Touch-Screen Shipments Expected to Reach 833 Million by 2013

Spurred by the popularity of Apple's iPhone and its elegant user interface, global shipments of touch-screen display modules are expected to more than double from 2008 to 2012, according to iSuppli.

The worldwide market for touch-screen modules will amount to 341 million units and $3.4 billion in value in 2008. iSuppli forecasts that the market will grow to 833 million units by 2013, expanding at Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.5 percent from 2008, according to iSuppliÃ's new forecast issued this week. Global touch-screen module revenue is forecast to grow to $6.4 billion by 2013, rising at a CAGR of 13.7 percent from 2008.