Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Alps Alpine”) piloted the introduction of AirInput™, a non-touch operation space input solution using an original high-sensitivity electrostatic capacitance sensor, for the new office building of Recruit Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Recruit”). elevator operation Panel and indoor lighting switch. This introduction was done jointly with Cosmos More Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Cosmos More”), which is engaged in the facility management business. Through the introduction of this pilot, the experience and knowledge that can be accumulated in actual use in the field will speed up the productization process of AirInput™ in the broad market. Meet the needs of public spaces that are reluctant to touch due to the risk of infectious diseases such as the new coronavirus, and strive to contribute to the new normal society.
In the input operation of public spaces such as elevator switches, toilet flush switches, and tram ticket machines, for reasons such as “I don’t know who has touched it”, “the operating area is not clean”, “my hands are dirty”, etc. Conflict scenarios abound. With the recent spread of the new crown epidemic around the world, this sense of resistance is stronger than before. Although epidemic prevention and control measures such as alcohol disinfection have been adopted in public facilities, the new normal society has put forward higher requirements for epidemic prevention and control in public spaces.
Since 2008, Alps Alpine has been working on the development of a spacer input device using an original high-sensitivity electrostatic capacitance sensor. In January 2020, at the “CES2020”, the world’s largest Electronic equipment trade fair, held in Las Vegas, it was specifically proposed that various types of electronic equipment used in medical and nursing sites, public transportation, etc. need to be fully considered in terms of hygiene. Remote input solutions for live scenarios*1.Last year, with the spread of the new crown epidemic, in order to realize the productization of this solution as soon as possible, we accelerated the market research, and also applied for such a product series that uses high-sensitivity electrostatic capacitance sensors to realize remote input.AirInput™ trademark.
Last summer, we developed a prototype for teleportation for elevators. In the process of providing the solution, the operability of the prototype and its perfection as a solution were highly praised by Recruit. This time, the company was going to renovate its base to reflect the concept of a new era office building, so it was opened for use in April. Our company’s AirInput™ Panel and AirInput™ Switch were introduced on a pilot basis in the new office building in Kudanshita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, and the project has now been put into use.
AirInput™ Panel is used for indoor lighting operation switch, which can perform non-contact lighting ON/OFF switching. When the finger is about 3cm close to the icon of the floor area where the lighting operation is to be performed, a circle indicating the selection will appear. When the circle is fully circled, the lighting ON/OFF operation can be performed. If you leave your finger before the circle is full circle, you can cancel the confirmation operation to prevent misoperation.
AirInput™ Switch is used in the elevator operation panel. Put your finger about 4cm away from the number of the floor you want to go to, and a faint light will be emitted around the number to indicate the selection. Continue to bring your finger close to about 2cm, the operation will be confirmed and the light will continue to light up in white. After reaching the selected floor, the light will automatically turn off. The waiting hall outside the elevator is also equipped with the same product with the up and down arrow icon, which enables a series of input operations required to move in the elevator without touching it. The product launched this time realizes the non-contact of the old elevator installed 30 years ago. Both products include functions such as icon action based on finger distance and determination of operation waiting time, enabling realistic and comfortable operation even in non-contact mode. In addition, the AirInput™ Switch can also be operated with actual touch.
In addition, AirInput™ Switch adopts our company’s unique decorative printing technology, and the elegant bright black interprets the high-end feeling of the elevator. This technology uses a unique fusion thermal transfer printing machine, and the film solid ink of about 1μm is hot-melted and colored, and multi-layer ink stacking printing is performed, which can be realistically reproduced on low-cost and easy-to-form materials such as resins. The look and feel of wood, metal, etc. that are difficult to form intricately. By using the special ink developed by our company, the invisible icon function that illuminates the icon from the back to highlight the icon is realized. A circle of illumination can be formed when the finger approaches and confirms the operation. In particular, the printing machine adopts an on-demand printing machine that does not require plate making. Printing can be started quickly after the printing data is completed, and color change is also very convenient, so it can quickly and flexibly respond to customer requirements.
Alps Alpine has advantages in the field of HMI (Human Machine Interface) technology. In order to make the user experience of remote input more comfortable, using the know-how accumulated over many years, in product development, it has pursued the operation icons, Display methods, and operation parts. decorative details. Through this pilot introduction, the issues in actual use and the operability from the user’s point of view are verified, so as to further optimize AirInput™ and strive to achieve productization within this year. In addition to elevator and lighting operation applications, we will simultaneously explore other markets and contribute to the new normal society by providing users with safe and comfortable space input solutions.
The Links: LTM10C209AF SKM200GB128D