What began with the revolutionary touch screen on mobile phones now shows signs that almost anything can become an effective interface. With an expanded range of input, imaginative teams will undoubtedly create new experiences. Two companies — Atmel and Canopy — are exploring the potential range of touch technologies with two compelling products on display this week in Las Vegas.

Atmel Corporation won the 2013 CES Innovations Award in the Embedded Technologies category for its Atmel XSense flexible touch sensor. XSense was selected for its revolutionary, high flexible film-based touch sensor. It boasts advantages such as flawless touch performance, enhanced noise immunity, low sheet resistance and low power consumption. According to the company, not only will it enable a new generation of smartphones and tablets, but also extend touch capabilities into a wider array of new consumer and industrial products.

Atmel also announced a demonstration of the XSense flexible sensor and Corning’s curved Gorilla Glass. The combination of the XSense and Gorilla Glass innovations have the potential to usher in a new era of interface designs over a variety of sizes for consumer electronic displays.

The flexible touch sensor allows capacitive touch to be wrapped around the side of a device, potentially eliminating the need for mechanical buttons. Atmel is demonstrating its technology with both flat and curved samples of Gorilla Glass to illustrate the compatibility of XSense with the industry’s standard chemically-strengthened cover glass for touch-enabled devices.

Additionally, Canopy is showcasing its Sensus touch sensitive phone case. The protective case includes touch sensitivity built into its back and right sides. It ships with the Canopy Sensus App, which is a toolbox that contains utilities, games and readers. Instead of just protecting a phone, the Sensus case presents users with an additional user interface that can be applied to day-to-day functions, games and other touch interactions.

Look for Canopy in booth LVH-53009. Atmel can be found in South Hall, booth #20612.