For those who panic at the ATM, digital commerce terminals, and even a shared smart fridge, Kastus and Lenovo have partnered to transform light-powered touchscreens.
The easily contracted COVID-19 spread around the world quickly (infecting 67 million people), leaving a path of destruction in the form of those who become ill, those scarred for life, and, for more than 1.5 million people, death. This virus is more tenacious than any virus in our lifetime. It is persistent; it was reported in a recent Virology paper that it can survive on certain surfaces—including touchscreens, paper money, and stainless steel—for as long as 28 days. That study also revealed that coronavirus survived longer at lower temperatures (hello, winter) and that it also survived longer on glass, stainless steel, and other nonporous or smooth surfaces. The 28-day survival was based on a room temperature of 68 degrees. It thrives in just the kind of weather the US has right now.
Screen-coating technology company Kastus and OEM solutions business Lenovo announced a global partnership “to intelligently transform” commercial touchscreens with light-powered antiviral and antimicrobial protection. The businesses said that Kastus’ “always on” screen-coating technology was “independently proven to be effective against human coronavirus and up to 99.99% surface bacteria.”
Any screen can be protected from laptops to tablets to smartphones to self-serve restaurant kiosks to medical devices.
The technology is light-activated, and Kastus said it “never depletes and is environmentally friendly,” and “bacteria and viruses cannot build resistance to it.”
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Lenovo plans to release the screen protectors for up to 31″ diameter of coverage, as well as a new line of products that will have the patented Kastus protective coating technology already built into the screens as standard. The antiviral and antimicrobial solutions will be used on new screen devices and tempered glass screen protectors, which the company said “can easily be applied to retro-fit and protect existing commercial screens in the field.”
The Ireland-based Kastus will take screens and screen protectors from Lenovo, and these screens will be designed for both companies’ devices, as well as industry partners.
This screen protection, said John Browne, CEO of Kastus, said in a press release, allows “consumers, colleagues and families to confidently interact with the touch screens that have become so integral to work and leisure.”
