Touch Screen: Definition

Download as doc, pdf, or txt
Download as doc, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 22

TOUCH SCREEN

DEFINITION:

A touch screen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a
touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device
with a finger or hand. Touch screens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus.

The touch screen has two main attributes. First, it enables one to interact directly with what is
displayed, rather than indirectly with a cursor controlled by a mouse or touchpad. Secondly, it
lets one do so without requiring any intermediate device that would need to be held in the hand.
Such displays can be attached to computers, or to networks as terminals. They also play a
prominent role in the design of digital appliances such as the personal digital assistant (PDA),
satellite navigation devices, mobile phones, and video games.

1
HISTORY

In 1971, the first "touch sensor" was developed by Doctor Sam Hurst (founder of Elographics)
while he was an instructor at the University of Kentucky. This sensor, called the "Elograph," was
patented by The University of Kentucky Research Foundation. The "Elograph" was not
transparent like modern touch screens; however, it was a significant milestone in touch screen
technology. In 1974, the first true touch screen incorporating a transparent surface was
developed by Sam Hurst and Elographics. In 1977, Elographics developed and patented five-
wire resistive technology, the most popular touch screen technology in use today. Touch screens
first gained some visibility with the invention of the computer-assisted learning terminal, which
came out in 1975 as part of the PLATO project. Touch screens have subsequently become
familiar in everyday life. Companies use touch screens for kiosk systems in retail and tourist
settings, point of sale systems, ATMs, and PDAs, where a stylus is sometimes used to
manipulate the GUI and to enter data. The popularity of smart phones, PDAs, portable game
consoles and many types of information appliances is driving the demand for, and acceptance of,
touchscreens.

From 1979–1985, the Fairlight CMI (and Fairlight CMI IIx) was a high-end musical sampling
and re-synthesis workstation that utilized light pen technology, with which the user could
allocate and manipulate sample and synthesis data, as well as access different menus within its
OS by touching the screen with the light pen. The later Fairlight series III models used a graphics
tablet in place of the light pen.

The HP-150 from 1983 was one of the world's earliest commercial touchscreen computer. It did
not have a touchscreen in the strict sense; instead, it had a 9" Sony Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
surrounded by infrared transmitters and receivers, which detected the position of any non-
transparent object on the screen.

Until recently, most consumer touchscreens could only sense one point of contact at a time, and
few have had the capability to sense how hard one is touching. This is starting to change with the
commercialization of multi-touch technology.

2
Touchscreens are popular in hospitality, and in heavy industry, as well as kiosks such as museum
displays or room automation, where keyboard and mouse systems do not allow a suitably
intuitive, rapid, or accurate interaction by the user with the display's content.

Historically, the touchscreen sensor and its accompanying controller-based firmware have been
made available by a wide array of after-market system integrators, and not by display, chip, or
motherboard manufacturers. Display manufacturers and chip manufacturers worldwide have
acknowledged the trend toward acceptance of touchscreens as a highly desirable user interface
component and have begun to integrate touchscreen functionality into the fundamental design of
their products.

WORKING

3
How Does a Touch Screen Works?
Three basic components are as follows:

Touch Screen Sensor: It is a clear glass panel with a touch responsive surface. The touch
sensor/panel is placed over a display screen so that the responsive area of the panel covers the
viewable area of the video screen.

Controller: It is a small PC card that connects between the touch sensor and the PC. It takes
information from the touch sensor and translates it into information that PC can understand.

Software Driver: The driver is a software update for the PC system that allows the touch screen
and computer to work together. It tells the computer's operating system how to interpret the
touch event information that is sent from the controller.

TECHNOLOGIES

4
There are a variety of touchscreen technologies.

Resistive:

A resistive touch screen panel is composed of several layers, the most important of which are
two thin, metallic, electrically conductive layers separated by a narrow gap. When an
object, such as a finger, presses down on a point on the panel's outer surface the two
metallic layers become connected at that point: the panel then behaves as a pair of
voltage dividers with connected outputs. This causes a change in the electrical current,
which is registered as a touch event and sent to the controller for processing.

Surface acoustic wave

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology uses ultrasonic waves that pass over the touch screen
panel. When the panel is touched, a portion of the wave is absorbed. This change in the
ultrasonic waves registers the position of the touch event and sends this information to the
controller for processing. Surface wave touch screen panels can be damaged by outside elements.
Contaminants on the surface can also interfere with the functionality of the touch screen.

Capacitive

Capacitive touch screen of a mobile phone

A capacitive touch screen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent
conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO).As the human body is also a conductor, touching the

5
surface of the screen results in a distortion of the screen's electrostatic field, measurable as a
change in capacitance. Different technologies may be used to determine the location of the touch.
The location is then sent to the controller for processing.

Projected capacitance

Projected Capacitive Touch (PCT) technology is a capacitive technology which permits more
accurate and flexible operation, by etching the conductive layer. An X-Y grid is formed either by
etching a single layer to form a grid pattern of electrodes, or by etching two separate,
perpendicular layers of conductive material with parallel lines or tracks to form the grid
(comparable to the pixel grid found in many LCD displays).

The greater resolution of PCT allows operation without direct contact, such that the conducting
layers can be coated with further protective insulating layers, and operate even under screen
protectors, or behind weather and vandal-proof glass. Due to the top layer of a PCT being glass,
PCT is a more robust solution versus resistive touch technology. Depending on the
implementation, an active or passive stylus can be used instead of or in addition to a finger. This
is common with point of sale devices that require signature capture. Gloved fingers may or may
not be sensed, depending on the implementation and gain settings. Conductive smudges and the
like on the panel surface can interfere with the performance. Such conductive smudges come
mostly from sticky or sweaty finger tips, especially in high humidity environments. Collected
dust, which adheres to the screen due to the moisture from fingertips can also be a problem.
There are two types of PCT: Self Capacitance and Mutual Capacitance.

Mutual Capacitance

In mutual capacitive sensors, there is a capacitor at every intersection of each row and each
column. A 12-by-16 array, for example, would have 192 independent capacitors. A voltage is
applied to the rows or columns. Bringing a finger or conductive stylus close to the surface of the
sensor changes the local electrostatic field which reduces the mutual capacitance. The
capacitance change at every individual point on the grid can be measured to accurately determine
the touch location by measuring the voltage in the other axis. Mutual capacitance allows multi-

6
touch operation where multiple fingers, palms or stylus can be accurately tracked at the same
time.

Self Capacitance

Self capacitance sensors can have the same X-Y grid as mutual capacitance sensors, but the
columns and rows operate independently. With self capacitance, the capacitive load of a finger is
measured on each column or row electrode by a current meter. This method produces a stronger
signal than mutual capacitance, but it is unable to resolve accurately more than one finger, which
results in "ghosting", or misplaced location sensing.

Infrared

An infrared touch screen uses an array of X-Y infrared LED and photo detector pairs around the
edges of the screen to detect a disruption in the pattern of LED beams. These LED beams cross
each other in vertical and horizontal patterns. This helps the sensors pick up the exact location of
the touch. A major benefit of such a system is that it can detect essentially any input including a
finger, gloved finger, stylus or pen. It is generally used in outdoor applications and point-of-sale
systems which can't rely on a conductor (such as a bare finger) to activate the touch screen.
Unlike capacitive touch screens, infrared touch screens do not require any patterning on the glass
which increases durability and optical clarity of the overall system.

Optical imaging

This is a relatively modern development in touchscreen technology, in which two or more image
sensors are placed around the edges (mostly the corners) of the screen. Infrared back lights are
placed in the camera's field of view on the other side of the screen. A touch shows up as a
shadow and each pair of cameras can then be triangulated to locate the touch or even measure the
size of the touching object (see visual hull). This technology is growing in popularity, due to its
scalability, versatility, and affordability, especially for larger units.

7
Acoustic pulse recognition

This system, introduced by Tyco International's Elo division in 2006, uses piezoelectric
transducers located at various positions around the screen to turn the mechanical energy of a
touch (vibration) into an electronic signal. The screen hardware then uses an algorithm to
determine the location of the touch based on the transducer signals. The touch screen itself is
made of ordinary glass, giving it good durability and optical clarity. It is usually able to function
with scratches and dust on the screen with good accuracy. The technology is also well suited to
displays that are physically larger. As with the Dispersive Signal Technology system, after the
initial touch, a motionless finger cannot be detected. However, for the same reason, the touch
recognition is not disrupted by any resting objects.

8
CONSTRUCTION

There are several principal ways to build a touchscreen. The key goals are to recognize one or
more fingers touching a display, to interpret the command that this represents, and to
communicate the command to the appropriate application.

In the most popular techniques, the capacitive or resistive approach, there are typically four
layers;

1. Top polyester layer coated with a transparent metallic conductive coating on the bottom
2. Adhesive spacer
3. Glass layer coated with a transparent metallic conductive coating on the top
4. Adhesive layer on the backside of the glass for mounting.

When a user touches the surface, the system records the change in the electrical current that
flows through the display.

Dispersive-signal technology which 3M created in 2002, measures the piezo-electric effect— the
voltage generated when mechanical force is applied to a material — that occurs chemically when
a strengthened glass substrate is touched.

There are two infrared-based approaches. In one, an array of sensors detects a finger touching or
almost touching the display, thereby interrupting light beams projected over the screen. In the
other, bottom-mounted infrared cameras record screen touches.

In each case, the system determines the intended command based on the controls showing on the
screen at the time and the location of the touch.

9
DEVELOPMENT

Virtually all of the significant touchscreen technology patents were filed during the 1970s and
1980s and have expired. Touchscreen component manufacturing and product design are no
longer encumbered by royalties or legalities with regard to patents and the manufacturing of
touchscreen-enabled displays on all kinds of devices is widespread.

The development of multipoint touchscreens facilitated the tracking of more than one finger on
the screen, thus operations that require more than one finger are possible. These devices also
allow multiple users to interact with the touchscreen simultaneously.

With the growing acceptance of many kinds of products with an integral touchscreen interface,
the marginal cost of touchscreen technology is routinely absorbed into the products that
incorporate it and is effectively eliminated. As typically occurs with any technology, touchscreen
hardware and software has sufficiently matured and been perfected over more than three decades
to the point where its reliability is proven. As such, touchscreen displays are found today in
airplanes, automobiles, gaming consoles, machine control systems, appliances, and handheld
display devices of every kind. With the influence of the multi-touch enabled iPhone, the
touchscreen market for mobile devices is projected to produce US$5 billion in 2009.

The ability to accurately point on the screen itself is also advancing with the emerging graphics
tablet/screen hybrids.

10
ERGONOMICS AND USAGE

Finger stress

An ergonomic problem of touch screens is their stress on human fingers when used for more than
a few minutes at a time, since significant pressure can be required for certain types of touch
screen. As the touch screen craze continues to grow society is experiencing a lot more finger
stress. This can be alleviated for some users with the use of a pen or other device to add leverage
and more accurate pointing. The introduction of such items can sometimes be problematic,
depending on the desired use (e.g., public kiosks such as A.T.M.s). Also, fine motor control is
better achieved with a stylus, because a finger is a rather broad and ambiguous point of contact
with the screen itself.

Fingernail as stylus

Pointed nail for easier typing. The concept of using a fingernail trimmed to form a point, to be
specifically used as a stylus on a writing tablet for communication, appeared in the 1950 science
fiction short story Scanners Live in Vain.

These ergonomic issues of direct touch can be bypassed by using a different technique, provided
that the user's fingernails are either short or sufficiently long. Rather than pressing with the soft
skin of an outstretched fingertip, the finger is curled over, so that the tip of a fingernail can be

11
used instead. The thumb is optionally used to provide support for the finger or for a long
fingernail, from underneath. This method does not work on capacitive touch screens.

The fingernail's hard, curved surface contacts the touchscreen at one very small point. Therefore,
much less finger pressure is needed, much greater precision is possible (approaching that of a
stylus, with a little experience), much less skin oil is smeared onto the screen, and the fingernail
can be silently moved across the screen with very little resistance, allowing for selecting text,
moving windows, or drawing lines.

The human fingernail consists of keratin which has a hardness and smoothness similar to the tip
of a stylus (and so will not typically scratch a touchscreen). Alternately, very short stylus tips are
available, which slip right onto the end of a finger; this increases visibility of the contact point
with the screen.

Fingerprints

Touchscreens can suffer from the problem of fingerprints on the display. This can be mitigated
by the use of materials with optical coatings designed to reduce the visible effects of fingerprint
oils, such as the oleo phobic coating used in the iPhone 3G S, or by reducing skin contact by
using a fingernail or stylus.

Gorilla arm

The Jargon File dictionary of hacker slang defined Gorilla Arm as the failure to understand the
ergonomics of vertically mounted touch screens for prolonged use. The proposition is that human
arm held in an unsupported horizontal position rapidly becomes fatigued and painful, the so-
called "gorilla arm". It is often cited as a prima facie example of what not to do in ergonomics.
Vertical touch screens still dominate in applications such as ATMs and data kiosks in which the
usage is too brief to be an ergonomic problem.

12
MOBILE DEVICES WITH TOUCH DISPLAYS

Some mobile devices [cell phones, handheld game devices] are Apple iPhone, Apple iPod
Touch, Google Android OS Powered Phones, Palm WebOS devices, some of LG [with Verizon
stock OS] phones have a touch screen [some of the most popular are the LG enV Touch, LG
Dare, LG Voyager], Apple iPod Nano, Apple iPad, UMPCs, and many more.

13
COMPARISON OF TOUCH SCREEN TECHNOLOGIES

4-Wire Surface Acoustic 5-Wire


Technology Infrared Capacitive
Resistive Wave Resistive
Durability 3 year 5 Year 5 Year 5 Year 2 Year
Stability High Higher High High Ok
Transparency Bad Good Bad Good Ok
Built-in/On Built-in/On
Installation Built-in/On wall On wall Built-in
wall wall
Touch Anything Finger/Pen Anything Finger/Pen Conductive
Intense light-
Good Good Good Bad Bad
resistant
Response time <10ms 10ms <15ms <20ms <15ms
Following Speed Good Low Good Good Good
Excursion No Small Big Big Big
CRT or CRT or LCD or
Monitor option CRT or LCD CRT or LCD CRT or LCD
LCD LED
Waterproof Good Ok Good Ok Good

TERMINOLOGIES USED

Screen Protector:

14
Some touch screens, primarily those employed in smart phones, use transparent plastic protectors
to prevent any scratches that might be caused by day to day use from becoming permanent.

Stylus:

A stylus (plural: styli or styluses) is a writing utensil, or a small tool for some other form of
marking or shaping, for example in pottery. The word is also used for a computer accessory
(PDAs). It usually refers to a narrow elongated staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many
styluses are heavily curved to be held more easily.

ADVANTAGES

15
1. SPEED: It is much faster to click something using your finger or a stylus pen
than it is to move a mouse or keyboard arrows. Speed can make a huge difference while
playing a fast-paced game. Speed also can be significant for placing orders in your business.

2. Desk Space:
You will have more desk space when you own a touch-screen monitor since you are not
required to hook up a standard keyboard and mouse. Also, you can put food and pop on the
desk without worrying about it spilling something on the keyboard or mouse. If
the computer is for your business, you don't have to worry about needing to replace the
keyboard or mouse due to careless customers or employees.

3. Ease of use: A touch screen device is indeed very easy and intuitive to use because a user
simply touches whatever he sees on the screen.

4. Durability

The peripheral equipment used with standard monitors has many components that are susceptible
to damage. For instance, a keyboard has separate keys and related circuits, any of which
can break or become inoperable due to dirt, crumbs, water damage, etc. In contrast, touch
screens can be protected more easily because they do not have as many parts. This means
that touch screens have the potential to have a longer product life than standard monitors
and computer systems.

5. Language:

Dozens of languages are spoken around the world, and considering ease of travel and the fact a
global economy exists, it's more important than ever for people to be able to communicate
wherever they go. Touch screens can use icons that can be considered universal so that people
understand the system regardless of their origin. There is no need for the individual to read
and/or enter text in a language that they do not know.

6. Comfort

16
Touch screens have the potential to be more comfortable for the user. For instance, for those with
arthritis, a touch screen can be less painful to use than trying to grasp a mouse or press a full
series of keys on the keyboard. They also can be more accessible for those with poor eyesight
because icons sometimes can be easier to distinguish than text.

17
LIMITATIONS

Touch-screen monitors are useful for many reasons, but they also have a few disadvantages
which are as follows:

1. Proximity to the Screen


If you are using a touch-screen monitor you have to be close to the screen in order to touch it.
This can be frustrating if you have a big desk and you keep your monitor in a place where you
have to reach for it. If you are not using a touch-screen monitor, you can be as far away from the
screen as your keyboard or mouse will allow you.

2. Accuracy
Unless you are using a stylus pen, a touch-screen monitor may not be all that accurate, depending
on the size of the icon as it relates to your finger. Small objects on the screen may be hard to
touch if you are using your finger, whereas it is easy to click with a mouse or keyboard.

3. Cleanliness
Another disadvantage of touch-screen monitors is that the displays get dirty frequently because
of constant touching with oily or sweaty fingers. Fortunately, touch-screen monitors are made
out of glass or something similar, so it is easier to clean than a regular monitor.

4. Cost
Touch screen devices cost more than the alternate devices which act as a major drawback for
middle-class families.

5.It can caused you to feel a little electric shocks if you touch the screen with your wet fingers.

6.Screens need to be installed at a lower position and tilted to reduce arm fatigue.

18
APPLICATIONS

The touch screen is one of the easiest PC interfaces to use, making it the interface of choice for a
wide variety of applications. Here are a few examples of how touch input systems are being used
today:

1. Public Information Displays:

Information kiosks, tourism displays, trade show displays, and other electronic displays are used
by many people that have little or no computing experience. The user-friendly touch screen
interface can be less intimidating and easier to use than other input devices, especially for novice
users. A touchscreen can help make your information more easily accessible by allowing users to
navigate your presentation by simply touching the display screen.

2. Customer Self-Service:

In today's fast pace world, waiting in line is one of the things that has yet to speed up. Self-
service touch screen terminals can be used to improve customer service at busy stores, fast
service restaurants, transportation hubs, and more. Customers can quickly place their own orders
or check themselves in or out, saving them time, and decreasing wait times for other customers.
Automated bank teller (ATM) and airline e-ticket terminals are examples of self-service stations
that can benefit from touchscreen input.

19
3. Control and Automation Systems:

The touch screen interface is useful in systems ranging from industrial process control to home
automation. By integrating the input device with the display, valuable workspace can be saved.
And with a graphical interface, operators can monitor and control complex operations in real-
time by simply touching the screen.

4. Computer Based Training

Because the touch screen interface is more user-friendly than other input devices, overall training
time for computer novices, and therefore training expense, can be reduced. It can also help to
make learning more fun and interactive, which can lead to a more beneficial training experience
for both students and educators.

5. Assistive Technology

The touch screen interface can be beneficial to those that have difficulty using other input
devices such as a mouse or keyboard. When used in conjunction with software such as on-screen
keyboards, or other assistive technology, they can help make computing resources more
available to people that have difficulty using computers.

20
6. And many more uses...

The touch screen interface is being used in a wide variety of applications to improve human-
computer interaction. Other applications include digital jukeboxes, computerized gaming,
student registration systems, multimedia software, financial and scientific applications, and
more.

CONCLUSION

A touch screen is the simplest, most direct way for a person to interact with a computer. The

21
basic way users interact with a touch screen is age-old. You point to what you want. It's intuitive

for virtually every child and adult in the world today.

22

You might also like