Innovative Switch Technology: KURZ, PolyIC and MARQUARDT Develop Space-Saving Controls
Fuerth/Germany, October 27, 2026: Thin-film specialist LEONHARD KURZ and its subsidiary PolyIC have contributed their expertise to an innovative switch concept developed by mechatronics specialist MARQUARDT: KURZ is responsible for the demonstrator’s industrial design, while PolyIC provides the sensor technology. The switch technology combines the intuitive operation of conventional switches and rotary controls with capacitive touch sensing as well as visual and haptic feedback. At the same time, it requires significantly less installation space behind the control surface than conventional mechanical switches. This opens up new possibilities for slim, aesthetically appealing control concepts – for example, in consumer and lifestyle products as well as mobility applications. The jointly developed DeltaFrame Demonstrator will showcase how the technology works for the first time at the PolyIC booth at electronica 2026 in Munich.
Conventional Controls Meet Modern Touch Sensing
The DeltaFrame Demonstrator illustrates how conventional controls such as rocker and rotary switches can be combined with capacitive touch sensors. What makes it special is that the mechanical switches do not need to penetrate the underlying panel. Instead, their movements are converted into capacitive signals by electromechanical components and electronically detected by the PolyTC® sensors positioned behind them.
This keeps the control surface beneath the switches completely closed. At the same time, users continue to receive the familiar haptic feedback of conventional switches. The demonstrator’s layer structure behind the switch elements bonded to the surface is just eight millimeters thick. This makes the concept particularly suitable for applications where installation space is limited but design and ease of use remain high priorities.
“With the DeltaFrame Demonstrator, we show the potential that emerges when surface design, sensor technology and mechanics are considered together from the outset. Working with MARQUARDT, we have succeeded in implementing familiar control concepts in a very small space while creating new possibilities for functional and aesthetically sophisticated surfaces,” says Gerhard Scheuing, Product Manager at PolyIC.
Multiple Technologies Working Together in a Compact Space
The demonstrator is based on a seamless, fully closed, semitransparent plastic panel made of PMMA. On the front is MARQUARDT’s Wireless Bonded Control Element (WBCE), featuring rocker switches and a rotary control. When the controls are operated, their movements are transmitted through changes in capacitance to three PolyTC® sensors, also mounted on the rear, from KURZ subsidiary PolyIC. The DeltaFrame Demonstrator’s electronics detect and process the corresponding signals.
Alongside its control function, surface design also plays a central role. The PMMA panel is enhanced with a surface decoration from KURZ. Combined with the semitransparent surface, this creates a hidden-til-lit effect: Graphics and symbols remain concealed when switched off and become visible only when backlit. Additional color effects are achieved using PolyTC® Colorful Pictures.
PolyTC® Colorful Pictures is a digitally decorated diffusion film from KURZ. It enables uniform distribution of LED light and can display symbols with color and brightness gradients using white LEDs. The demonstrator thus combines mechanical controls, touch sensing, lighting and decorative surface design in a compact structure.
“As the industry reassesses the importance of tactile controls for safe and intuitive interaction, the DeltaFrame Demonstrator offers a new approach: Invisibly integrated haptics behind closed surfaces combine user-friendliness, design freedom, optimized installation space and efficient variant management in a single solution,” explains Jens Amma, Project Lead Innovations at MARQUARDT.
Closed Surface Creates New Design Possibilities
A key advantage of the concept is its particularly slim construction. It provides new freedom in designing streamlined control solutions. Because the switches require no openings in the panel, neither water nor dust can enter through them. At the same time, the mechanical controls provide direct haptic feedback, while the Shy Tech decoration combined with PolyTC® Colorful Pictures also enables visual feedback and lighting effects.
Combined Expertise from KURZ and MARQUARDT
KURZ, PolyIC and MARQUARDT bring together their respective technological expertise for the DeltaFrame Demonstrator. MARQUARDT developed the concept and designed the Wireless Bonded Control Element. KURZ and PolyIC contributed the industrial design, PolyTC® sensor technology and PolyTC® Colorful Pictures technology, among other elements.
The collaboration builds on projects previously completed jointly by the two companies. With the demonstrator, the partners now show how their technologies can be combined into a particularly compact control concept.
Premiere at electronica 2026
KURZ will present the DeltaFrame Demonstrator for the first time at electronica 2026 in Munich from November 10 to 13, 2026. Visitors can experience how the new switch technology works and learn about potential applications at the PolyIC booth, Hall B4, Booth 301.
