a large machine in a large building

Case Study | Capacitive Touchscreen Upgrade

A global electronics manufacturer partnered with Eight Development to replace a legacy resistive touchscreen with a modern 5” capacitive interface.

Overview

A leading global consumer electronics manufacturer required a modern replacement for their ageing resistive 5” Touchscreen interface used across security and access control products.

The company engaged Eight Development to engineer a new slimline 5” HD capacitive Touchscreen platform that maintained full compatibility with their proprietary controller interface.

Using the customer’s protocol specifications and a sample device, Eight developed a modern touchscreen solution designed to integrate seamlessly into the existing product architecture while significantly improving the user experience.

gray industrial machine
woman sitting in front of computer monitor explaining something two man and woman beside her

Customer Challenge

The Customer had previously investigated developing the touchscreen internally. Their engineering team estimated a development cost of approximately USD $1M and a timeline of two years, due to the specialist hardware and firmware expertise required.

Key challenges included:

• Lack of in-house touchscreen interface expertise
• High development cost and long time-to-market
• Need for full compatibility with existing controller firmware
• Strict compliance and quality requirements for global deployment

The company issued an RFP seeking an engineering partner capable of delivering the solution faster, at lower cost, and with proven reliability.

Eight Development's Solution

Due to the success of the Touchscreen in the ANZ markets, Customer invited Eight to provide a quote for the development, engineering and manufacture of their Touchscreen. The brief was to build a capacitive Touchscreen that operates exactly the same as their current resistive Touchscreen.  Eight proposed a full design, development, and manufacturing programme to deliver a capacitive Touchscreen with identical functional behaviour to their legacy resistive unit—ensuring a smooth firmware transition. 

We delivered a fully UL-compliant Touchscreen at one-fifth of the Customer’s original cost estimate, and within 12 months instead of the projected 24.  

All performance, reliability, and compliance requirements were met, including strict quality processes. 

The device entered full-scale production and has since been deployed globally, with thousands of units supplied. The product continues to be manufactured as part of their active product line.

Key Results

• Development cost reduced by approximately 80%
• Time-to-market reduced from 2 years to 12 months
• UL-compliant touchscreen platform delivered
• Thousands of units deployed globally
• Product integrated into the customer’s active product line

 

Eight Development's Solution
Eight Development