Sentons Launches SDS ButtonBar to Take Virtual Buttons Mainstream

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sentons, the pioneer in Software-Defined Surfaces (SDS), has expanded its product portfolio beyond an initial core offering of gesture sensing products and has announced the launch of SDS ButtonBar™, a standardized button replacement solution. The ButtonBar provides core virtual button functionality at price parity with physical buttons to finally give phone manufacturers an effective way to bring new devices to market with advanced virtualized power and volume controls.

Built for maximum industrial design flexibility and designed with haptics for tangible button operations that consumers are used to, ButtonBar can be placed in a variety of locations, including inset from the edge of the phone.

"As phone designs evolve with thinner industrial designs, advanced 5G antennae, and reducing aperture count, manufacturers are struggling with where to place chunky old-fashioned buttons. ButtonBar directly addresses these needs, while still giving you the tactile feel of a physical button," said Jess Lee, Sentons President and CEO. "ButtonBar's sleek profile and flexibility of placement is a game-changer, and we're very excited to bring this solution to market at scale with our partner Foxconn."

SDS ButtonBar drives industrial design innovation, allowing a clean modern interface  with the reliability of physical buttons. It is comprised of over 20 submicron-sized ultrasonically modulated discrete sensors distributed within a short 1.9 inch bar, with the following benefits:

• Can be placed almost anywhere, including the interior of the phone due to the high sensitivity multi-sensor solution. (i.e. can be inside the battery compartment)
• Compatible with thin, foldable and curved waterfall displays
• Unlocks new user experiences with virtualized buttons that are redefinable in software
• Highly engineered to identify intended touch and press patterns and reject false touches that plague other solutions
• Supports full IP68 enclosure rating, since there are no longer apertures for out-of-date buttons

In order to manufacture the SDS ButtonBar at the highest quality, at scale and at a price point competitive with mechanical buttons, Sentons has partnered with Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturer.

"The replacement of mechanical buttons has long been one of the most sought after goals in mobile manufacturing," said HS Chou, BU Head at GIS (a member of Foxconn Group). "Sentons technology is significant and Foxconn GIS is excited to partner with them to deliver at this scale."

SDS ButtonBar is the latest addition to Sentons' portfolio. It comes on the heels of the launch of Sentons' processor and gesture engine -- an ultrasonic, high-fidelity touch platform that allows phone makers to create software-defined interactions beyond the glass touchscreen. ButtonBar resides on the same core platform and leverages advanced processing within a lighter-weight processor that feeds off the high performance Merkel cell style sense fibers on the bar to recognize and distinguish, true button presses.

For more information on Sentons and its technology please visit www.sentons.com. 

About Sentons:

Sentons is Software-Defined Surfaces: Bringing high-resolution touch and force sensing to various surfaces on any device, and unlocking a new level of interactivity to the mobile device market. The company's patented acoustic electro-mechanics technology is in-market on a number of mobile devices, and is expanding its ability to bring richer user experiences to a dozen more phone models through gesture captured and virtual buttons. Sentons was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in San Jose, California, led by a team of technologists from Apple, Telegent Systems, and LSI Corporation.

SOURCE Sentons