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Last active August 1, 2020 23:32
Reconfiguring self checkout touch screens to prevent virus transmission

Reconfiguring self checkout touch screens to prevent virus transmission

Most supermarkets now have self-checkout machines. One issue with these machines is they usually require customers to interact with some kind of touchscreen. This makes them a contamination vector for the Covid19.

However most of these machines use capacitive touchscreens, which can be detect fingers at close proximity before they actually contact the surface. Sensitivity is usually tuned to detect actual touches, but they can be made more sensitive.

By increasing sensitivity, these touchscreens can be transformed into touch-less input devices. With some communication on the topic, this could reduce virus transmission between customers.