Touch
Is on the Ground and on the High Seas
 Here to Help
There's a strong trend in
the automotive sector to configure the "connected car." More
and more cars have a GPS navigation system as standard equipment, and
CarrollTouch infrared technology is the perfect solution
for the small, in-car LCD display.
Whatever the emergency service—police,
fire, or ambulance—touch technology is providing a fast and efficient
user interface that speeds both reception in the call center and response
out on the street.
Law enforcement personnel use touch as an integrated
single interface to multiple databases, giving these personnel, attorneys,
and other officials real-time access to information from various agencies.
Digital networks connect patrol officers to an extensive integrated
criminal justice communication network. Police vehicles equipped with
touch-based mobile computers enable officers to query both local and
national databases quickly and easily for information on stolen property
and outstanding warrants.
Car manufacturers and car rental companies
use touch-based kiosks to extend their customer service even further.
The Vehicle Information Centers (VIC) act as silent salespersons in
dealer showrooms. Powered by an Elo touchmonitor using IntelliTouch,
these interactive kiosks allow customers to virtually configure a car
to their personal tastes.
Drivers using rental cars benefit from an
interactive IntelliTouch-driven kiosk that supplies information on
local hotels, restaurants, and entertainment opportunities and a five-day
weather forecast, all in a variety of languages, and even produces
a printout—all by simply touching the screen.
Touch Keeps on
Truckin'
When it comes time to take a break, truck drivers are
just a fingertip away from a host of amenities with applications using
Elo touchmonitors and touchscreens. A special program for truckers
who buy fuel rewards them with points that can be redeemed quickly
and easily using touch-enabled kiosks. When long-haul truck drivers
heat or cool their cabs during their mandated rest periods, they no
longer have to waste gasoline or pollute the air by idling their engines.
A special service module now allows drivers to shut off their engines,
and they can use the easy-to-use Elo touchscreen—powered by CarrollTouch
infrared technology—to surf the Internet, make a free phone
call, or even watch cable TV at the touch of an onscreen button.
Haulage
companies also use touch technology to manage the transportation of
timber, fuel, bottled gas, and hazardous waste. Using an embedded PC
equipped with GPS, the trucker can see transport orders on display
in real time, and a digital map shows the various pickup and delivery
points as well as instructions on how to get from one to the other.
The driver can then send a post-delivery confirmation back to the dispatcher,
who can also view the driver's location on a local display.
The
truck can even be loaded using fork-lift trucks equipped with touch
technology. Like the truck driver, the fork-lift driver can select
pickup and delivery points interactively, and inventory information
is then relayed back to the warehouse.
Efficiency in Training, Tolls and Scheduling
Car drivers who take their license tests using a touch-based
system can complete the examination in 15 minutes instead of the hour
it typically takes for a handwritten exam. Powered by IntelliTouch
surface-wave technology, the touchscreen speeds the entire process
by making it more user-friendly and extremely interactive, as candidates
benefit from the visuals and the ability to point and touch the answer.
Waiting in line to pay a toll is anathema
for drivers rushing to work or eager to reach a vacation destination.
Whether operated by the tollbooth worker or directly by the driver,
it is essential that the toll systems be fast and efficient. Motorways
in the south of France now accept both traditional manual payments
and automatic payments made with a touch interface on an Elo touchmonitor.
And drivers can pay their toll and check traffic flow ahead at the
touch of an onscreen button.
Touch applications are
extending efficiency in taxis, airport tarmac buses, and city transport.
City bus drivers use touchscreens in combination with GPS in new "Dynamic
Stop" systems to indicate schedule
changes on electronic bus-stop signs. Airport tarmac buses communicate
with dispatchers when shuttling passengers to their planes. In-car
computers enable taxi drivers to keep in touch with their dispatchers.
 Maritime Piloting, Operation and Control
In many modern ships, the operation and control consoles are being
reduced from a myriad of switches and buttons to the simpler, more
intuitive interface of a touchscreen. Touch also simplifies ship maintenance:
a new pump on deck can be implemented by a small software adaptation
instead of physically installing a new control in the panel. The same
touch-enabled panel can also control lighting, generators, voltmeters,
and on-board alarm systems.
 Touch
Is in the Air Touch
Technologies and Touch Products
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