Kinesthetic-sensitive displays are now a reality, as Arizona’s Microchip Technology Inc. and Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) recently announced a partnership to distribute projected-capacitive touch (PCAP) and 3-D gesture interface modules using Microchip’s GestIC hand-tracking platform.

"SiS is honored to have the opportunity to partner with a world-class company such as Microchip," SiS President Jonathan Shyi said. "We are thrilled to have the ability to introduce the very first 2-D/3-D combination solution to the world.”

Microchip’s GestIC technology represents “the next dimension in intuitive, gesture-based, noncontact user interfaces” for a wide array of products, Microchip said. The new multi-touch and 3-D gesture-sensitive equipment allows devices to track hand gestures from a 20-cm distance from a display surface. Using hand gestures not only breaks through verbal language barriers and overcomes any fine motor skill difficulties, but is also sanitary and easy for anyone to learn.

"We are excited to be partnering with SiS in order to meet the growing demand for 3-D control displays in the consumer, automotive, home-automation and IoT markets," Chandler-based Microchip's Human-Machine Interface Division Director Roland Aubauer said. "Microchip is committed to furthering the innovation in human-interface technologies, and SiS's modules will ultimately allow our customers to integrate these two interface technologies into their applications faster. With this partnership, the next dimension of intuitive, gesture-based user interfaces is now available for a broad range of end products."

SiS will provide further development and sensor integration as the modules evolve into their roles for automotive and consumer purposes.