CTT Announces Its State-of-the-art UTA3221 Controller System-on-Chip

April 12, 2022 – Cambridge, UK – Cambridge Touch Technologies Ltd. (“CTT”, “Company”) today announced the availability for customer sampling of its new, state-of-the-art UTA3221 force-touch controller System-on-Chip (SOC).  The UTA3221 is custom-designed for use with CTT’s own piezoelectric UltraTouch all-in-one location-and-force-sensing solution.

UltraTouch is the next-generation touch technology that delivers a richer and more satisfying user experience with our smart devices, by permitting the determination of the touch force at every finger, along with the location. UltraTouch is a platform solution combining an advanced transparent piezoelectric film that is flexible and thinner than a human hair, together with sophisticated algorithms, AI and machine learning, all incorporated within an industry-standard projected capacitive touch panel sensor or smart surface.

There are billions of devices, from consumer smartphones to household appliances, to monitors in hospitals or the interior of your car, where force-touch control is either desirable for more intuitive user operation or essential for safety.  Force-touch operated devices can be used in the rain and even underwater, or when the user is wearing gloves, safety gauntlets or sterile personal protective equipment.  Furthermore, it can replace mechanical buttons with virtual ones that behave and feel like the real thing, while force-operated smart surfaces can be glass, metal, ceramic, polymer and natural materials like wood and vegan leather.  UltraTouch is a force-touch technology that provides such capabilities and more, and is scalable, permitting deployment across a broad range of device sizes and form factors, including curved and flexible.

The new UTA3221 force-touch controller SOC, powered by an Arm® Cortex®-M CPU, is a key part of the CTT piezoelectric UltraTouch solution. The Company was able to access the Cortex-M CPUs through the Arm Flexible Access program, that allows companies to access the broadest set of proven IP, tools and support at a low cost. UTA3221 is a breakthrough chip that packs custom-designed and patented analog front-end circuitry together with digital electronics and CTT’s sophisticated algorithms, AI and machine learning, all within a single 76-pin QFN package less than 5mm on its side.  It achieves a noise floor and sensitivity that makes the UTA3221 uniquely compatible with piezoelectric film sensors and the almost-impossibly tiny pico-coulomb (one trillionth of a coulomb) signals that are generated when touched.  The UTA3221 can sense up to 10 independent force inputs simultaneously, while multiple chips can be daisy-chained together for very large displays or surfaces.   It incorporates edge-native capabilities and over-the-air (OTA) programmability to allow seamless in-field feature releases and on-demand feature customization by the end user, thus enabling Features-as-a-Service revenue opportunities.   Furthermore, the UTA3221’s low power operation (32uW quiescent) makes it suitable for demanding battery-operated devices.   The UTA3221 has been developed on an automotive process yet is compatible for all applications, including consumer, medical and industrial.

According to Corbin Church, Chief Executive Officer:  “Force-touch is an important evolution in how humans interact with their devices.  The UTA3221 achieves its step-change performance through the use of CTT’s patented technologies together with an efficient and low-power Arm Cortex-M processor.  UTA3221 is perfectly suited to our high-end UltraTouch sensing technology that utilizes sophisticated DSP, AI and machine learning algorithms, and also enables OTA feature control and upgrade capabilities at the edge, which is especially relevant in the growing connected car market, for example.”.

Andy Matthews, Chief Operating Officer, said: “The launch of UTA3221 represents an exciting milestone for CTT and our customers.  Not only does our new state-of-the-art chip provide differentiating features and new value for them, but its availability means our customers can develop and deploy UltraTouch across many of their existing product lines easily, while also enabling all-new product designs and functionality.  At the same time, it provides them with the supply chain options they require in the volumes they seek”.

CTT will provide sampling of its new UTA3221 in customer projects and in volume to its licensees. CTT will also offer a UTA3221 evaluation kit (EVK) for purchase on its website.  Interested designers can register or purchase at https://camtouch3d.com/product/evaluation-kit/

Please contact us at info@camtouch3d.com to find out how you can access our new UTA3221 or to learn more.

Read further about how UltraTouch smart surface technology unlocks new human interface possibilities for software-defined vehicles of the future on Arm Ltd’s Blueprint blog.

The full Press Release available at PRweb.