ePads from Steadlands make property returns a lot easier for Cleveland Police

June 2007

Returning property to their rightful owners in the Cleveland police district used to mean a lot of paperwork, administration and storage. Today, the use of an ePad Ink digital signature capture device, makes life a lot quicker and easier for all concerned.

Whether the items are lost and found, the results of crime, goods seized during an investigation for forensic examination or exhibits used at trial, they all eventually end up at the force’s Central Property Store where the owners can collect them from Reliant, the civilian contractors who run the store for the police force.

Cleveland Police chose the ePad Ink, supplied by Steadlands International, in an effort to reduce the amount of paperwork which required storage for two years after goods had been collected. Now the owners simply sign on the ePad and the electronic signature is retained in a digital format. The ePads are used in conjunction with a law enforcement software system designed by Niche and tailored to suit Cleveland’s requirements.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: “We were looking for a system which enabled us to capture a signature electronically. It was important that the user could actually see their signature appearing quite clearly in the screen.”

Because the Cleveland force covers a wide area, there are situations where members of the public aren’t able to travel to the Central Property Store and so the goods are despatched to district offices for local collection. The use of the ePads at these sites means that signatures can be captured remotely and then sent to a central computer for storage.

Interlink’s ePads have been used in other police forces for applications including custody suite control and property management. The ePad Ink captures the handwritten signature on it’s integrated LCD signature pad, converting it to a biometrically-secure e-signature for use in electronic forms and transactions. By providing user-intuitive electronic signatures, ePad-ink enables enhanced security, improved workflow, reduced operations costs and faster document processing times.

Force sensing resistors offer a range of advantages for prosthesis

March 2007

When Touch Bionics, the UK-based award winning designer and supplier of electrically powered Upper Limb Prostheses, embarked on the design of its acclaimed success, the i-LIMB Hand, it was essential that the supply of components was established in order to ensure that the benefits of the prosthetic were future-proof.

Being a standard off-the-shelf parts, force sensing resistors (FSRs), supplied by Tyneside's Steadlands International and manufactured by California-based Interlink Electronics, have become an important part of Touch Bionics' signal collection strategy. Although not suitable for use on all prosthetics, the FSR is ideal for use when patients do not have the ability to activate electrodes. In this situation, an FSR can detect the change in muscular force and allow the opening and closing of the hand with high proportional levels, says the company.

The FSR will enable the user to grip tighter, or faster even around contoured, delicate surfaces such as a wine glass. The use of force sensing resistors also enables Touch Bionics to enhance the anatomical movement of a prosthetic hand and offer users a step-change in functionality and performance, enabling patients to do more with their prosthetic hand.

It has been developed in such a way as to provide 'lighter weight' functionality for patients. In addition, the modularity approach to developing the system components makes it viable to develop components for all patient types at a low cost.

The i-LIMB Hand is a true next generation bionic product - it has five individually powered digits which provide the end-user with completely new grip options to enhance dexterity and the activities of daily living. The i-LIMB Hand is a terminal device that actually looks and acts like a real human hand - a goal that has never been a commercial reality, until now, says the company.

Using a traditional myoelectric two-signal input sourced from analogue electrodes (sensors placed closed to the skin to collect muscle-generated signals), the i-LIMB Hand's 5 powered motors operate using Touch Bionics' unique control system. This approach to control is very familiar to myoelectric users and has the benefit of allowing patients to quickly start implementing proportional control (slower / faster) and 'power grip' pulsing to increase a firmer grip of objects.

Again using a traditional two myoelectric signal input, Touch Bionics' enhanced control system will shortly offer patients and end-users the opportunity to run sub-routines and functions specific to activities of daily living such as pointing the index finger only (to operate a PC or telephone) or bringing together only the thumb and index finger (to pick-up small/delicate objects).

Unlike a traditional 3-jaw-chuck or similar terminal device, the i-LIMB Hand's five individually powered digits grip around objects and then lock when sufficient grip force has been applied - just like a real hand. The excessive tip-force grip of more traditional devices is no longer required to maintain sufficient grip on heavier or more difficult-shaped objects. The addition of the i-LIMB Hand's cosmesis provides extra grip capability. The new production techniques developed in-house by Touch Bionics has resulted in a cosmesis that is highly realistic in terms of skin tone, skin surface and overall accuracy to a real hand.

"Our unique combination of mechanics, controls and cosmesis re-writes the rulebook on prosthetic grip force and device functionality," said Touch Bionics' Phil Newman. "And, FSR's are becoming a key component in developing products such as our i-LIMB range. The proportionality of the output signal from the FSR enables certain users to achieve much more control."

"Although Steadlands enjoy working with FSR technology in all sectors of the electronics industry, everyone within the company get's an extra kick out of working on a project which involves a higher level of human interest such as the Touch Bionics i-LIMB and Salisbury District Hospital's Dropped Foot Stimulator to enhance mobility for stroke sufferers. We wish Touch Bionics great success with i-LIMB," said Steadlands' MD Peter Craik.

Force Sensing Resistors (FSRs) are robust, polymer thick film (PTF) devices that exhibit a decrease in resistance when increased pressure is applied to the surface of the sensor. This force sensitivity is optimized for use in human touch control of electronic devices such as automotive electronics, medical systems and industrial PCs. FSRs are not a load cell or strain gauge devices though they have many similar properties.

Established technology - they have been in use for more than 25 years - FSRs do not incorporate any moving parts, so their life is almost constant. Used widely in automotive, medical, consumer electronics such as MP3 players, mobile phones and games consoles the FSR also has many industrial applications, says the company.

New Product Launched in the ePad Family

Interlink Electronics has announced the release of the ePad LS, the latest member of the ePad family. With it's 5.7 inch TFT Active Matrix colour LCD screen, and AES 256 bit encryption (see below) as standard, it it the most advanced model to date. It uses a USB 2.0 port to interface with your computer, but, so you don't run out of space, the ePad LS has two USB ports built into it.

Click here to download the ePad LS datasheet.

Click here to download the ePad family datasheet.

Interlink Launch ePad-XL

With its innovative and ergonomic design, the durable ePad^TM XL allows customers to easily select buttons, key in PINs and respond to prompts.  The terminal reads all three tracks from magnetic stripe cards in a bidirectional slot-reducing training and confusion and speeding up transactions.  PINs are protected with Master Session or DUKPT encryption under single or triple DES. ePad XL is Visa PED approved. ATM/PIN based authentication, retail banking signature capture, POS payments and in-lane targeted communications are enabled by the ePad XL’s fast processor and proven development environment. The ePad XL comes standard with powered USB, 4MB Flash, 16 MB of RAM, and a 3-track magnetic stripe card reader. Options include a color LCD, additional memory and a USB host.

 Click here to download the ePad-XL datasheet.

 Click here to download the ePad family datasheet.

News Archives

Nationwide Selects ePad-ink - December 2003

Interlink Add The ePad-Ink Pro to The ePad Family