Benzinga | Jan 7, 2022 01:08PM EST

Synaptics Launches S9A0H SoC To 'Enable Larger, Smarter, and Industry's Most Secure Haptic Touchpads'

Synaptics(r) Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA) today announced its S9A0H ASIC TouchPad(tm) solution, an integrated hardware/software platform supporting the industry's highest level of firmware security. It also provides scalability to meet demand for larger, smarter, and more responsive haptic-enabled touchpads to enhance productivity.



A touchpad, like many human-machine interfaces (HMIs), can be rendered inoperable, turned into a logger of private information, or otherwise compromised if unsigned/malicious firmware is loaded. The S9A0H is a Microsoft Windows and Google Chromebook compatible solution that is the first to enable NIST SP800-193 compliance and 384-bit encryption for firmware security. As such, it directly addresses the concerns IT professionals have about the threat of unsigned firmware and the growing need for stronger cyber resilience in the work-from-anywhere (WFA) era.

Built for security and productivity at the forefront of WFA

The new ASIC brings seamless, effortless security to a new level in PCs addressing the growing need to balance user productivity and corporate security. In a recent survey by HP, 76% of IT teams admit security took a backseat to business continuity during the pandemic. The S9A0H removes such tradeoffs from the touchpad. It was built from the ground up for security with an uncompromising feature set that includes:

* Support for sophisticated firmware security processes, including OS-independent protection through hardware root of trust (RoT)

* Advanced threat detection, including persistent firmware verification

* Safe, automatic recovery if the firmware is corrupted: the touchpad stays free of malware and just works, no matter what

"Our goal is to integrate security in a seamless, intuitive fashion that protects enterprise assets but doesn't become a productivity hindrance that users want to work around," said Saleel Awsare, SVP and GM of Synaptics' PC and Peripherals Division. "With our latest TouchPad, we achieve that goal by enabling a thin, light, elegant, industrial design and an enhanced UX that allows PC OEMs to deliver a rich, productive user experience without compromising security," added Saleel.

The S9A0H also incorporates the following features for enhanced user experiences and to drive higher levels of productivity:

* AI-enhanced algorithms to improve accuracy, such as ignoring unintended touches and palm rejection

* Click-Anywhere technology for faster and more accurate input and more intuitive interaction

* Increased channel count to support large-size touchpads and seamless industrial designs that enhance user productivity

* Haptic ForcePad technology for additional dimensions of input control NFC antenna integrated directly into the touchpad, reducing size, complexity, costs, and frequency interference, compared to traditional under-the-sensor NFC placement methodsS