This article describes the reasons some touchscreens do not behave correctly when using wet hands, fingers, or if water or other liquid contacts the glass touch surface.

IntelliTouch technology, also known as SAW or Surface Acoustic Wave, is more sensitive to water droplets and wet hands due to the inherent nature of that technology. If the screen gets wet, you must immediately dry it off for the touch to work properly.



The way IntelliTouch works is explained more in-depth in THIS article, but the quick explanation is this: IntelliTouch is a piece of glass which has tiny electronic transducers mounted on the back of the glass that send out electrical waves which travel through the glass from axis to axis. When you touch the screen you absorb the wave which sends a signal to the touch controller indicating there is something touching the glass in that area. The touch controller will then respond by causing a touch event. If the area continues receiving a constant touch or the water continues to be on the glass, it will cause the touch controller to consider it a contaminant and map around the touched (or wet) area. To recover, you must wipe the water from the glass.

For environments susceptible to water or liquids, Elo recommends using PCAP, IR, or AccuTouch technologies.