Stantum, the company which we know for its multi-touch technology, and the leader of LCD driver and SoC IC design, Sintronix, announced a partnership to provide “voltage matrix multi-touch single-chip solutions.” Sitronix will integrate Stantum’s patented multi-touch screen tech into its own products and supply multi-touch controllers for consumer electronics and mobile applications.

The first product that will emerge as a result of the co-operation of the two companies will be able to drive small to medium touch panels up to 10.1 inches, and the first samples of this solution will be available in Q3 2009 and in mass production by Q4 2009.

Both parties seem satisfied with the deal: Stantum’s CEO Etienne Paillard said that the upcoming solution will “answer the market demand for economical multi-touch controllers,” while Sintronix’ VP Weber Chien said they are “happy to have the opportunity to bring it [Stantum's technology] to the consumer electronics market.”

In a nutshell, a news item that doesn’t affect anyone of us, but it’s good to see multi-touch technology going forward. Hopefully, we’ll some major handset maker licensing Stantum’s tech and release its own multi-touch-enabled handset in the near future…

Stantum, the company which we know for their multi-touch technology, recently announced that the European Patent Office and the China Patent & Trademark Office have granted patents (EP1719047 and CN100447723C, respectively) to Stantum on its multi-touch technology. This comes as an extension to the original patent filed in France in February 2004.

From the press release:

The patents describe a method and a system for controlling electronic devices by manipulating graphic objects on a transparent multi-contact touch panel. Beyond the process enabling the detection and tracking of an unlimited number of simultaneous contact points on a touch screen, the patents disclose various multi-touch interaction techniques, such as applying specific behavior to graphic objects according to finger gestures.

Now we’ve no clue how this will affect any legal battles between handset manufacturers on one, and Stantum on the other side, but we’re certainly hope it won’t stifle the innovation.

Stantum’s CEO, Etienne Paillard, said that the patents granted in Europe and China are further acknowledgement of Stantum’s pioneering position in the field of multi-touch technologies. “Moreover, they strengthen our intellectual property rights in geographic areas that account for about 40 percent of the global gross domestic product,” he added.

Stantum Technologies, the company which we know for its multi-touch technologies, has recently announced that it has secured $13 million in Series B funding from CDC Innovation, Auriga Partners and XAnge Private Equity, which is the company’s historical investor. As part of the deal, CDC Innovation’s Valery Huot and Auriga Partners’ Philippe Granger have joined Stantum’s board of directors, alongside Nicolas Rose, partner at XAnge Private Equity.

For those that are wondering what will Stantum do with the new money, the company’s CEO said the funds will be used to develop a worldwide sales and marketing organization in the U.S., Europe and Asia; increase R&D capacity for next-generation sensing technologies and new products; and establish and increase mass manufacturing capabilities through partners.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona we saw Stantum’s technology in action and from what I can tell, there’s a promising future for both the company and its investors…

We’ve already covered Stantum and their quite promising multi-touch technology. Now we have more to add to their side. Along with Vision Objects, they are demonstrating multi-touch/handwriting recognition screens, which was produced as a result of combining the two companies’ technologies.

From the press release:

Integrating with Stantum’s multi-touch technology is Vision Objects’ MyScript, a handwriting recognition solution designed for any touch screen and optimized specifically for small-footprint platforms to provide high-accuracy recognition of more than 85 languages. Backed up by a simple, intuitive interface, users can write a message effortlessly with either their fingertips or a stylus and see their text instantly and accurately transcribed into digital text. MyScript not only recognizes all handwriting styles but also intuitive gestures that allow users to write naturally, insert spaces and line breaks, and easily correct text by editing gestures — from simple backspace gestures to natural scratch-outs.

Both parties seem optimistic about the new tech’s prospects. Vision Objects’ Jean-Marc Aichoun even said: “Indeed, we can now offer the new generation of electronic devices an unrivaled way of interaction and a great user experience that provides the fastest, most reliable way of entering data in a mobile device.”

More information is available from Stantum’s and Vision Objects‘ websites.

Multi-touch sensing technology provider Stantum Technologies is introducing a new version of its SMK series of multi-touch demo, evaluation and development kits — which enable vendors and OEMs to develop their own multi-touch applications.

Featuring a 4.3-inch touch panel, the new version will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (Hall 2.1, Stand 2.1F67) in Barcelona, where Stantum is demonstrating it on a Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) OMAP35xx platform. The demo is based on a beta version of the company’s new multi-touch framework called Touch Park and it shows the screen’s implementation in such apps as address book, drawing, picture resize and gaming.

In addition, Stantum is also exhibiting its 2.5- and 3.5-inch SMK kits, whose touch panels boast the highest performance in transparency (83% transmission) and ultra-low activation force (10g).

Every Stantum’s SMK features:

• Stantum’s patented PMatrix, finger-friendly resistive multi-touch detection platform,
• A hardware kit made of a resistive-based touch-screen sensor, a multi-touch controller board with a USB connection to the application host processor; and,
• Drivers for Windows, MAC, and Linux operating systems.

More information is available on Stantum’s website.