RAD-I/O - Frequently Asked Questions

What is RAD-I/O?

RAD-I/O is a new and exciting solution for wall-mounted touch-screens in every room of the home or office. RAD-I/O is very low cost and has virtually unlimited capabilities in what it can display for home automation systems.

What's with the name, RAD-I/O?

We here at RedRadio think it is a radical (RAD) approach to (I) input (touch screen) and (O) output (LCD) for home automation.

What is different or unique about RAD-I/O?

Nearly all other touch screen products on the market today are based on some sort of thin-client technology. This means that there is either a PC motherboard or an embedded type processor behind each touch screen. Creating a thin client increases the cost (hardware, software, firmware, etc.) for each touch screen that you mount. Then each thin client has to communicate with all of the other devices, and typically have one or more ports, such as ethernet, RS232, RS485 or others. This too increases costs. Often, the thin client hardware and software behind the touch screen has limited capabilities as well. Touch screens based on thin-clients can cost $800, $1000, even thousands of dollars for just a single touch screen.

Our approach is a simple one. Take a small, standard PC to use as a host for the user interface to be displayed around the home, and SPLIT the display into multiple, smaller displays around the home. Even the most basic PC platforms (such as the popular VIA EPIA series motherboards) are many times more powerful than most of the thin-clients supporting current touch screen technologies. In doing this we have eliminated most of the electronics usually associate with individual touch screens, and thus reduced the cost. And since PC software is both easy to develop and ubiquitous, there is very little that cannot be accomplished without changing the LCD touch screen hardware.

Why did you develop RAD-I/O?

Because we just can't imagine why anyone would a) pay several thousand dollas for just one touch screen, and b) be satisfied with just one touch screen in the home.

What can RAD-I/O do?

RAD-I/O LCD touch screens are simply displaying, in real time, what is displayed on the desktop of the host PC. So the question is really 'What can a PC platform do?.' The answer--just about anything that you can imagine.

What is the RAD-I/O product roadmap?

Our 8-port video card supports 8 1/8th VGA single-gang LCD's rendered from a 640x480 desktop. Later this year we plan to introduce a 1/4 VGA dual-gang LCD touch screen option rendered from a 640x480 desktop as well. With the 1/8th and 1/4 VGA LCD's, you can mix and match them all from a single video card. For example, 2 1/4 VGA LCD's and 4 1/8th VGA LCD's.

What technology is used in RAD-I/O?

RAD-I/O uses our Patent Pending Fractional Video Display (FVD) technology.

Do you offer a Wireless option?

Not yet, but this is part of our product roadmap.

Can I use my existing home network cable?

Although we use the Ethernet protocol between the video card and LCD touch-screens, it is at the physical layer and not compatible with home Ethernet networks. We provide power over the CAT5 cable to power the LCD's, and this is also not compatible with Ethernet networks and may in fact damage networking equipment. However, if you have dedicated CAT5 cables running from a head-in location and wall locations, these can be used for RAD-I/O, provided that they are CAT5 or better wire and less than 100 meters (330ft) for each LCD.

Is a dedicated PC required for the video card?

For the first version of the video card running under Windows, we take over the primary display. Although we have not tested the product under Linux as of this writing, drivers are available for the Lynx3D chip that we use that should permit it to operate under a virtual desktop, however as of this writing it has not been tested.

Why are you offering a PC with the system?

The reference kits include a PC with the video card pre-installed, tested, and running under Windows XP Home. We are offering this so that you can get up to speed very quickly in evaluating the product.

Will I still be able to use my PC desktop for other uses?

If you install the video card in an existing PC running Windows, the LCD touch screens will become the primary display.

Are drivers required for the video card?

Drivers are provided for Windows. Drivers for other operating systems are available, please contact us.

Can the LCD be mounted in my wall?

The reference kits ship with metal enclosures and single-gang wall plates. They can be mounted in drywall using the supplied hardware, however, these units are not intended for resale.

Are power wires required for the LCD?

No, power is supplied over the CAT5 cable from the video card.

What is the maximum length of CAT5 cable?

The LCD touch screens have been tested to 100 meters (330 ft).

What type of CAT5 connectors are used?

The video card and LCD touch screen each use RJ11/12 6-pin connectors with straight-through wiring.

Does anything else come with the LCD's such as temperature sensors?

At this time, RedRadio is looking to OEM's to add enhancements to the LCD side of the product. There is a spare pair on the CAT5 cable, and also an I2C network built into the product. Either of these would allow someone to add temperature, humidity, and light sensors, as well as physical buttons, and other enhancements. It should be relatively easy to engineer a daughter board and custom enclosure for this purpose.

Will the LCD's fit into a standard single-gang box or mud-ring?

No. Because of the size of the LCD module, it is slightly wider than a standard single-gang box. However, we provide a mounting enclosure.

Can multiple displays be touched at the same time?

Technically no. Since we have only one desktop, and one mouse emulation through the touch-driver, only one touch can occur at a time. However, we are able to queue touches for a few hundred milliseconds (adjustible for OEM's) so that if two or more users are touching at the same time or near the same time, then there will be only a slight delay in seeing the touch go through. When a drag operation is occuring (such as a volume slider control), then the other LCD's are locked out from accepting touch (except for a small queue). In real world tests we found that the likelyhood of this occuring is extremely low.

Does any software come with the product?

The reference kits include a sample Visual Basic application, with source code.

What software is supported?

Since RAD-I/O is no different than a standard video card in terms of what it displays, any software platform should work. RedRadio does not plan on offering its own software for home automation at this time. RAD-I/O is currently supported by several Home Automation software companies. Please email support@touchtronix.com for a list. If you are a software developer, you can develop a user interface for RAD-I/O easily. We offer samples and guides for different languages in our support forum. We have even tested RAD-I/O with DOS and a DOS GUI program.