Escatec will be exhibiting and presenting at the UK Device Developers' Conference that takes place in May.
Daniel Pfeifer, Head of the Global R&D Team at ESCATEC’s facility in Switzerland, explained, “The customer approached us at the concept stage, wanting to create a watch aimed at a gap in the market. Until now, electronic watches have been targeted at the mass market with nothing focussed at the luxury market. The customer’s concept was to deliver the quality and cachet of a top-end, luxury Swiss watch combined with the amazing functionality and personalisation that electronics and an interactive touchscreen can provide.”
Key was the creation of the unique, curved, capacitive touchscreen that enables intuitive interaction with the familiar swipe movements from smartphones and tablets. Beneath the screen is a custom-made, 240 by 232 pixel display that provides a variety of displays such as photographs, chronometer, video, virtual watch movements and calendar. The touchscreen was one of the biggest challenges as the customer wanted it to be curved so that the front and the back of the watch followed the curve of the wrist to give a sophisticated feel and look. The final design has several layers deposited onto sapphire glass and it took many months to find a supplier who could actually manufacture a curved touchsensor as nothing like this had ever been made before. The design of touchscreen and control electronics was one of the first projects that ESCATEC undertook as a recently appointed Atmel touchscreen design partner.
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