Touch Screen Technology

N. Daniel Vivek Raj II CSE NITS, Miryalaguda.

OVERVIEW:
Introduction History Components Technologies Merits & Demerits Applications Conclusion

INTRODUCTION
An electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. Can also sense passive objects such as Stylus. Common in devices such as game consoles, tablet PCs and smart phones.

HISTORY
The first touch screen was a capacitive touch screen-by G Samuel Hurst, an American inventor, in 1971. In 1979-1985, the Fair light CMI, Light pen was used to operate. Fair light series IIT models used Tablet in the place of light pen. 1983-HP150 one of the worlds earliest commercial touch screen computers.

 Similar to the PLATO IV terminal system, the touch technology employed infrared transmitters, receivers and 9 Cathode Ray Tube. In early 1990s Segas handheld game console with touch screen controls was invented, but was abandoned due to the expensive cost. Nintendo DS was a successful video game which used touch controls in 2004.

COMPONENTS
A basic touch screen has three main components:

Touch Sensor Controller

Touch Sensor

Controller
Connects the touch sensor to the PC. Acts as a Translator between the touch sensor and the PC.

Software Driver
Allows the touch screen and computer work together. Helps in replacing the mouse with touch. Similar to an Operating System i.e. acts as an interface between screen and processor.

TECHNOLOGIES
Resistive Surface acoustic wave Capacitive Infrared Optical imaging Dispersive signal technology Acoustic pulse recognition

Resistive touch screen

Features:i. Capable of multi touch. ii. Not affected by dust or dirt on the screen. iii. Good for outdoor use. iv. Low cost.

Surface acoustic wave(SAW)

Features: Provides good image clarity as it uses pure glass. Panels can be damaged by outside elements. Contaminants on the surface can also interfere with the functionality of the touch screen.

Capacitive touch screen

An insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide(ITO) is present in it. Touching the screen results in a distortion of the screens electrostatic field. Can only be operated by using conductors.

Infrared touch screen

Optical imaging touch screen

Relatively a modern development. Image sensors are placed around the edges. Growing in popularity, due to its scalability, versatility and affordability, especially for larger units.

Dispersive Signal technology

Small amount of voltage is applied to the four corners of the touch screen.

A finger touches the screen and draws a minute amount of current to the point of contact, creating a voltage drop. The x/y location of the point of contact is calculated by the controller and transmitted to the PC.

Uses sensors to detect the Piezoelectricity in the glass that occurs due to a touch. Complex algorithms interpret this information and provide actual location of the touch. Unaffected by dust and other outside elements, including scratches.

Acoustic Pulse Recognition

Introduced by Tyco Internationals Elo division in 2006. Key to the invention-a touch at each position on the glass generates a unique sound. The four transducers attached at the edges will catch the sound of touch. The sound is digitalized and compared to the prerecorded sounds by the controller.

MERITS
User friendly Fast response Error free input Can use finger, finger nail, gloved hands, stylus or any soft tip pointer. Easy to clean. Makes computing easy, powerful and fun. Replaces keyboard and mouse.

DEMERITS
Finger Stress Finger prints Screen has to be very big not to miss out things. Big screen leads to low battery life. Cant be read in direct sunlight as the screen is not 100% transparent.

APPLICATIONS
Museums Library resource guides Corporate information Airport terminal passenger internet and emails ATMs Restaurants Grocery stores

CONCLUSION:
Designers are trying to simplify input commands. Touch screen has become adopted by all computer users of all abilities as it is simple, fast and innovative. We hope, in future definitely this technology will replace keyboard and mouse completely.

Thank you!