Synaptics presents keyboard that senses where you press – ThinTouch

Synaptics have presented new technology for notebooks where it hopes to innovate something as classic as the keyboard. Synaptics ThinTouch is based on capacitive touch technology and opens up for extremely thin keyboard that in turn saves power and enables even thinner computers.

Synaptics recently acquried Pacinian and has now made one of the technologies it will develop further public. One of the more exciting solutions is ThinTouch – a technology that makes keys touch sensitive, just like a touch screen. Synaptics uses capacitive touch technology, which is what we find in nearly all smartphones and tablets, and allows keys to respond to direct touch from your fingers.

Even if capacitive touch technology does not need physical touch, ThinTouch keys move downward just like a regular key. instead of a vertical movement, it slides down at an angle, which leads to a feeling similar to a mechanical keyboard, while the profile is 30-50 percent thinner.

Synaptics will get a classic keyboard feel in a thinner format and believes ThinTouch is the solution. The advantages will be a simpler mechanical technology for better durability, easier to get backlighting for the keys and the overall thinner profile has many advantages. Among others it can lead to to 50 percent thinner keyboards, increase battery times in a notebook by up to 34 percent – without making it thicker. And make space for better and more efficient cooling solutions.

Synaptics ThinTouch looks like an interesting solution that combines mechanics with touch technology. Is this a solution that could appeal to users?