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Aug 31, 2023

OLED pushbutton shows videos

Push buttons need never be boring again, now NKK has introduced one with a

Push buttons need never be boring again, now NKK has introduced one with a built-in colour video and graphics display.

The display is OLED, 96×64, shows 16-bit colour (65,536 colours), and has a 50,000hour lifetime.

Down in the engine room, dust-proof gold-plated twin contacts are expected to last up to 1,000,000 cycles.

The firm has done video switches before, but not one where the display almost fills the button top.

"The full screen design allows larger displays to be assembled from a number of switches, providing an interactive video plus human-machine interface display and control panel," said Foremost Electronics, which is stocking the part.

There is a video showing a large display assembled from the push buttons.

Data to the display is via a serial SPI bus, and the switch may be used to display graphics, words and symbols as well as video.

Applications are expected in professional broadcast, audio, video and lighting systems, TV editing suites, air traffic control systems, arcade games and interactive displays for museums and exhibitions.