QTC Technology and what it can do for you

After reading the post by Engadget regarding Samsung EM picking up a contract with Peratech I decided to dig in to see how this new technology could be applied to mobile devices. Lets start off by defining what QTC is.

Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC) is a new class of electrically conductive material that has been developed to advance the capability of switching and sensing systems. QTC is a pressure switching and sensing material technology.

QTC is a patented technology developed in the UK by Peratech Limited based on original discoveries by David and Chris Lussey, the company’s founders.

First produced in 1996, QTC is a composite material made from metal filler particles combined with an elastomeric binder, typically silicone rubber. The unique method of combining these raw materials results in a composite which exhibits significantly different electrical properties when compared with any other electrically conductive material.

QTC was not designed specifically for mobile devices and has a wide range of usage. The technology was designed for any touch sensitive applications, supporting both light touches to the surface or hard presses like a virtual button.

The more research you do into QTC technology the more you realize how useful this type of technology would be in the mobile space. Due to the pressure-sensing aspects of QTC you could easily create new user interface elements to behave differently based on the pressure being applied to the screen. An example would be pressed a email message in your inbox lightly would open the message while pressing harder could fire off a predefined task such as delete/move. The potential of this technology is massive and could being a new level of innovation that we have yet to imagine. For those of us that tend to like “real” buttons on hand held devices this could bring the best of both worlds while allowing us to keep our large hi-resolution screens.

What are your ideas for the use of QTC pressure-sensing and switching? The gates are open, voice your ideas.