IFSR Technology

Multitouch technology is a fairly recent invention that allows users to do things with a touch screen (such as move around and resize photos, as you can do on iPhones and iPads)  that would've been unimaginable a few short years ago. Already, however, a new touch technology has emerged that promises to eclipse multitouch.

The new technology, IFSR, may soon be headed to a Kindle near you.

Amazon long resisted adding touch technology to its Kindle eReaders, arguing that it reduced reading legibility, but it has acquired a new firm started by New York University students who created a new form of touch technology. The technology, IFSR (for interpolating force-sensitive resistance), promises to revolutionize electronics by allowing for the creation of highly intuitive devices that allow for greater interactiveness.

The company, Touchco, reportedly was working to produce consumer electronic products such as eReaders, netbooks, notebooks and musical instruments that use IFSR technology. These products were to begin to reach the market before the end of 2010, according to Softpedia.com.

Then came reports that Amazon had acquired the new company and TouchCo's website went blank. "As of January 2010, the company is no longer doing business," it says now.

In October 2009, an Amazon executive told the Wall Street Journal that it easily could add touch to its Kindle reading devices but resisted because it decreased readability.

"It increases glare, and decreases the amount of light reaching your eye," Steven Kessel, an Amazon senior vice president for digital media, told the Journal. "Today for the Kindle there is nothing between your eye and the E Ink screen. That’s what makes it easy to read on.”

Maybe improved readability is one of the many wonders of IFSR.

How IFSR works
IFSR promises to revolutionize electronics by making devices more intuitive and allowing greater interactiveness.

Touch International Enhances Interactive Applications with the Multi-Touch Resistive Touch Screen Module
Touch International releases its Windows 7 compatible Multi-Touch Analog Resistive (MARS) Touch Screen Module that supports 10-finger touch and is easily modifiable. Featuring superior drift-free performance, outstanding optical clarity and a fast and accurate response time, the MARS module allows for True Touch Gesture and palm rejection while working with bare or gloved finger and any pointing device.