Kim Jong-ho

By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter

Governmental researchers have developed a flexible touch-sensor system that can be used in mobile gadgets.

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) said Tuesday that it is selling the sensor technologies to Misung Polytech, a cellphone parts company in Bucheon, for 32.5 billion won.

It is the second largest intellectual property sale from a governmental research institute in Korea, since Electronic and Telecommunications Research Institute's (ETRI) sale of its CDMA mobile phone technology to U.S. tech company Qualcomm. ETRI has received over 300 billion won in royalties from Qualcomm since 1992.

KRISS and Misung Polytech signed the contract on Tuesday at the firm's office in Bucheon, Kyeonggi Province. KRISS receives 4 billion as a signing fee, and the rest will be paid over the next 20 years. In addition, it will take 3 percent of revenue made from the sale of the touch sensors. The contract includes exclusive rights to use 12 patents.

``The micro mouse and touch-screen can be applied to any input systems for mobile devices, such as phones, mini PCs, car navigation systems, household appliances and cars,'' said Kim Jong-ho, the leader of the project. ``They use a flexible tactile sensor system composed of multiple sensors, so they can process three-dimensional inputs. They can be made into any size and any depth.''

Most personal computers use the mouse as a pointing device, which uses either mechanical or optical sensors. Touch-screens used in laptops and teller machines are also used as a two-dimensional pointing system. But the KRISS system can interpret signals in three dimensions, because it can measure how hard the force is being applied to a sensor, the institute said.

The new technology is also adequate for touch screens for mobile phones because the grid of tiny sensors is printed on a transparent plastic film and does not obscure the vision. As the film is flexible, it can be applied to round objects.

Various types of touch-sensitive screens were developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Apple last year introduced the technology to its iPhone, and many other phone makers have followed the trend since.

Misung Polytech is a mid-sized maker of mobile phone keypads and touch screens. The company had 62.8 billion in sales in 2006.

The company's stock price fell by a daily limit of 15 percent on Tuesday, after rising by almost 70 percent over the past month.

indizio@koreatimes.co.kr