Touchscreen controller family expanded with additional security features

The increased number of EVs on the road requires the necessary charging infrastructure to expand to meet the demand. Adding credit card payment options to EV chargers is becoming a standard practice in many countries – and is a mandate in the European Union – and chargers need to meet PCI security standards. To help EV charger designers protect their payment architectures, Microchip Technology has released the MXT2952TD 2.0 family of secure touchscreen controllers.

Typical touch-enabled HMI and RFID combination-based payment systems are vulnerable to hacking attacks via malicious software updates or man-in-the-middle attacks when a user enters their PIN on the touchscreen. Physical mesh barriers and sensors are often employed around these ICs to protect them from hacking. Constant reflashing of software and device resets are utilised to help safeguard software integrity. The MXT2952TD 2.0 family is developed to encrypt touch data and cryptographically authenticate software updates to minimise risk and meet PCI certification compliance standards. When the RFID reader IC and the touchscreen controller are on different printed circuit boards (PCBs), building physical barriers for hack protection is especially difficult and expensive. Embedded firmware on the controller provides a more easily implemented solution for EV charger manufacturers to remain compliant with security regulations and avoid the cost of adding a second, expensive touchscreen payment module to the charger.

The outdoor nature of EV charger HMIs demands they withstand harsh weather conditions, function accurately in the presence of moisture, and be resistant to vandalism. The touch controller-based touchscreens remain effective when designed with IK10 standard 6mm-thick glass, anti-reflective, anti-glare, anti-fingerprint coatings, and IR filter/UV filter layers. The company's proprietary differential touch sensing delivers excellent noise immunity for superior touch performance even when used with thick gloves.

"The maXTouch 2952TD 2.0 family provides EV charger designers with a cost-effective, secure design architecture for implementing credit card payments with PIN entry on their touchscreens," said Patrick Johnson, senior corporate vice president overseeing Microchip's human machine interface division. "Combined with the rugged, outdoor HMI touchscreen technology that Microchip's maXTouch portfolio is known for, the new addition to the 2952TD family of touchscreen controllers offers our customers secure designs and the exceptional touch performance necessary for outdoor applications."

As well as EV chargers, the family is ideal for most unattended outdoor payment terminals such as parking meters, bus ticketing meters and other types of POS systems. The 2952TD 2.0 is specifically optimised for 20" screen sizes and its sister part, the MXT1664TD, is available for 15.6" screen sizes.

Standard maXTouch family development tools are obtainable, including maXTouch Studio IDE and maXTouch Analyzer, which is an end-of-line production test/inspection tool.

The company also has several factory-trained global touch sensor module partners to help support custom touch sensor and/or touchscreen display designs.