The interaction between humans and technology is evolving rapidly – becoming increasingly touchless, more robust and more flexible. Optical Force Sensing (OFS) enables fully sealed surfaces that still respond to proximity, touch and pressure, giving interfaces a digital sense of touch. This creates new possibilities for both buttonless designs or enhancing buttons and switches with increased durability and differentiated interaction concepts including interior applications in automotives. With the AS7100 Optical Force Sensor, ams OSRAM now offers its first fully integrated digital optical force sensor module qualified for demanding automotive applications.

Today consumers expect vehicle interfaces to look elegant, function reliably and feel intuitive – even when wet, when wearing gloves or in harsh environments. Optical Force Sensing (OFS) combines optical force measurement, touch detection and proximity sensing into a single approach, giving automotive surfaces a digital sense of touch and enabling new design possibilities for vehicle interiors.

“In Optical Force Sensing two developments are converging,” explains Christian Feierl, Senior Product Manager at ams OSRAM. “On one hand, manufacturers want robust, waterproof and long lasting designs. On the other, users want natural, differentiated input with clear feedback, whether as an add-on to mechanical components or completely without.”

OFS addresses this challenge by measuring tiny changes in light reflection beneath the surface. A deformation of less than a micrometer is enough for the system to detect force, touch or even proximity. This provides surfaces with a sense of touch while keeping the technology highly versatile and material agnostic, as OFS can be implemented behind metal, glass or plastic.

AS7100 enables robust, multimodal control for automotive smart surfaces
Automotive applications require added robustness, safety and precise multimodal functions. Qualified for demanding automotive usage, the AS7100 is the first fully integrated digital optical force sensor module from ams OSRAM designed to detect even the smallest surface deformations under challenging thermal and mechanical conditions. It combines optical force, touch and proximity sensing within a compact package and supports multimodal interaction on fully sealed smart design surfaces.

In technical terms, the AS7100 module integrates a 940 nanometer infrared emitter with a programmable high current LED driver capable of delivering up to 250 milliamps, enabling precise illumination and stable force measurement across different materials and geometries. It also features an onboard 256 byte FIFO memory that buffers measurement data while the host microcontroller is inactive, enhancing system efficiency and responsiveness. These integrated functions allow the AS7100 to deliver high resolution force detection with less than one micrometer displacement, while maintaining reliability between –40 and +125 degrees Celsius. As a result, it can support a broad spectrum of automotive interfaces such as temperature settings, door handles, smart surfaces in the cockpit or trunk openers.

“With AS7100 we can implement safety relevant functions on invisible control elements on surfaces – combining touch, zero force detection and true force measurement,” says Christian Feierl. “A single icon can trigger several actions: light tap, medium press, firm press.”

A broader platform for sealed interfaces
In addition to automotive, consumer applications provide supporting evidence for the broader OFS platform. In wearables and smart-home interfaces, the AS7150 analog frontend and the SFH7061 optical frontend support proximity sensing, zero-force activation and multi-button designs with precise detection of soft, medium and hard presses. These examples show how the same sensing principle can be adapted to different materials, form factors and user requirements.

Conclusion: Why a digital sense of touch matters in the vehicle
Vehicle interfaces must be durable and easy to use while helping to reduce visual distraction. By combining proximity, touch and force on robust, fully sealed surfaces, the AS7100 gives vehicle interfaces a digital sense of touch. This enables clearly differentiated inputs, making the technology less visible while supporting more flexible interaction concepts in the vehicle.

Related story
Optical Force Sensing is also being developed for robotics and advanced force-sensing applications. Read our previously published story on the AS7160 and SFH7065 to learn how optical sensing can help robots detect and interpret contact.

(Photo credit: ams OSRAM)

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