OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Panasonic Corporation today announced that it will start the mass-production of the capacitive-type, highly sensitive, multi-touch capable automotive curved touch panel at the end of September 2015. The panels can enhance the design flexibility of vehicle cockpits and the operability of the panels of car navigation systems and, in addition, are suitable for the screens of many different products including display audio systems.

This touch panel has the following advantages:

1. The curved touch panel in which a plastic cover panel and highly sensitive film sensors are integrated can enhance the design flexibility of vehicle cockpits.
   - The capability of accommodating openings in which input switches can be easily mounted will contribute to the simplification of the customer's design.
2. The highly sensitive film sensors allow for operations while wearing gloves, and multi-touch operations, contributing to the enhancement of the operability.
3. High visibility and reliability suitable for automotive use have been achieved.

Many mobile devices including smartphones and tablets use a capacitive touch panel that can realize swift operations. In automotive use, where the same level of usability is also required to car navigation systems and display audio systems, the adoption rate of capacitive touch panels has been increasing. In vehicle cockpits, however, great importance is placed on the design flexibility, which has led to the requests for curved touch panels that can be used in center consoles and instrument panels. In addition, there have been requests for the supply in the form of touch panels with an embedded cover panel, rather than discrete touch panels, to improve the design efficiency. In response to such requests, Panasonic will start the mass-production of capacitive-type curved touch panels that can enhance the design flexibility of vehicle cockpits and the operability at the same time.

The key specifications of this touch panel are as follows: