2. Capacitive Touchscreen
Technology
The Capacitive Touchscreen Technology is the
most popular and durable touchscreen technology used all over the world at
most. It consists of a glass panel coated with a capacitive (conductive)
material Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). The capacitive systems transmit almost 90% of
light from the monitor. Some of the devices using capacitive touchscreen are
Motorola Doom, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Samsung Galaxy SII, Apple’s iPad. There are
various capacitive technologies available as explained below.
Surface-Capacitive screens, in this technique
only one side of the insulator is coated with a conducting layer. While the
monitor is operational, a uniform electrostatic field is formed over the
conductive layer. Whenever, a human finger touches the screen, conduction of electric
charges occurs over the uncoated layer which results in the formation of a
dynamic capacitor. The computer or the controller then detects the position of
touch by measuring the change in capacitance at the four corners of the screen.
Pros and Cons: The surface capacitive touchscreen is moderately durable and needs
calibration during manufacture. Since a conductive material is required to
operate this screen, passive stylus cannot be used for surface capacitive
touchscreen.
In the Projected-Capacitive Touchscreen
Technology, the conductive ITO layer is etched to form a grid of multiple
horizontal and vertical electrodes. It involves sensing along both the X and Y
axis using clearly etched ITO pattern.
The projective screen contains a sensor at
every intersection of the row and column, thereby increasing the accuracy of
the system. There are two types of projected capacitive touchscreen: Mutual
Capacitance and Self Capacitance
3. Surface Acoustic Wave
Touchscreen technology
The Surface Acoustic Wave Touchscreen
technology contains two transducers (transmitting and receiving) placed along
the X-axis and Y-axis of the monitor’s glass plate along with some reflectors.
Pros and Cons: 100% clarity is obtained as no metallic layers are present on the
screen, it can be operated using passive devices like stylus, glove or finger
nail. Screen can get contaminated with much exposure to dirt, oil which may
haunt its smooth functioning.
4. Infrared Touchscreen
Technology
In the Infrared Touchscreen Technology, an
array of X- and Y- axes are fitted with pairs of IR led s and photo detectors. The photo detectors detect any change in the
pattern of light emitted by the Led s whenever the user touches the
monitor/screen.
The
starred assets..!!
The potential novice touchscreen technology
has many advantages over the conventional QWERTY keyboard and monitor. It is
very flexible as opposed to its physical counterparts since the digital
displays can be configured anytime at will of the user as per the
functionalities. Touchscreen allows users to customize the interface for
example alteration of language and size. By adjusting the size of the keyboard,
user can utilize the spare area for display and other uses. With the decreasing
size of computers and tablets these days, touchscreen is an added advantage.
Multiple functions has to be performed on a small screen, touchscreen allows
switching to a function at user’s will. For example, virtual keyboard which is
an application of touchscreen is displayed on the screen only when the user
allows it to be.
However, there is also the other side of the
coin where there some functionality which cannot be performed using a regular
touchscreen like cut-and-paste, right click menu options, drop-down
menus.
The
Plural Touch Technology..!!
The plural touch technology or the Multi touch is a variant of the touchscreen technology which can detect two or
more touches over its display area at the same time. Some of the common
functionalities that require multitouch interface are zooming in, zooming out,
rotating objects, panning through a document, virtual keyboard, etc. Multi
touch Applications technology are found in smart phones like iPhone,
Samsung Galaxy, Nokia N8, Nexus S, Microsoft Touchable, Apple’s iPad and many
more.
Apple iPhone: ‘Multitouch’ now is a trademark by Apple who rightly proved it
with a bang with the first most successful multitouch device ever; the iPhone.
The first iPhone was unveiled on January 9, 2007. IPhone is no less than a
revolution in the touchscreen industry with its maestro functionalities and
applications. It uses Mutual Capacitance Technology as its touchscreen. The
capacitive touchscreen can only be operated by bare finger or multiple fingers
for multi touch.
Microsoft Surface: is a multi touch product from Microsoft that allows multiple users to manipulate digital content through surface computing. The main feature of this product is its Surface’s interface: Direct interaction, multi-touch contact, object recognition and multi-user experience. It is not based on and limited by the conventional touch technology. The surface utilizes Frustrated Total Internal Reflection and underneath projectors for its display operation. It is indeed a milestone in the multi-touch scenario.
Benefits of Touch Screen Technology
When deciding on new interface technology, whether it is for
professional or personal use, the touch screen component has become a popular
option to consider. With a hard durable surface, with a thin plastic screen
shield, touch-screen devices are less prone to screen damage than devices with
keypads. Moreover, the resilient and
easy-to-use nature of touch-screen devices make them suitable for users of all
ages and skill levels.
Replacing the Mouse and keyboard
The process of using a touch screen monitor allows for the
absence of the traditional computer mouse and keyboard. Without them, the touch
screen functions and programs are directly accessible by touching areas of the
screen. The absence of a mouse and keyboard also allows for easier transport
and relocation of the device.
Reality
Based Interaction
Having a more direct and natural interaction with electronic
devices is an appeal of this technology. Lacking the multiple devices needed to
communicate with traditional computers, touch screen technology creates a
simpler and more intuitive interaction.
Space and Mobility
Standard computer systems that require a mouse and keyboard for
operation take up more space than touch screen devices. Touch screen devices
thus can be used with greater ease in areas where a user does not have a lot of
room to place a computer system.
Durability
The devices with keypads are susceptible to damage. For
instance, a keyboard or a keypad 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.
Speed
The fact that icons can be used with touch screens greatly
increases the speed at which the user can manipulate the system applications.
It takes far less time for the brain to process an image than it does to read
an entire sentence of text, so users can go through the application processes
in a matter of seconds and be on their way faster. Speed also is increased
because users don’t have to type out a response.
Improves Accessibility
Touch screens have the potential to be more comfortable for the
user. Impaired individuals can use touch-screen technology, especially those
who find using a mouse or keyboard difficult. For example, touch screens often
organize information in a clear and simplified way, so visually-impaired
individuals can operate them. Similarly, disabled patrons who have difficulty
speaking or standing in long lines can take advantage of touch-screen
technology to access information easily and at their own pace. In addition,
touch-screen interfaces are often so easy to use that even people with little
or no experience using computers can operate one with minimal or no
supervision. They also can be more accessible for those with poor eyesight
because icons sometimes can be easier to distinguish than text.
Easy User Interface
One of the major benefits of touch screens is the overall ease
of use. Since the act of touching is instinctive, touch-screen devices are
relatively simple to operate. A clearly defined set of menus is easy to
navigate through when all the user has to do is touch the desired option. The
user-friendly nature of the touch screen also helps save time.
Easy to Clean and Maintain
Touch screen devices have smooth, flat screens, which makes
cleaning a much easier task. Devices which do not require a keyboard tend to
collect less dust. The function of the computer mouse is eliminated as well–a
device with many crevices that are hard to clean. The wireless nature of the
touch screen also eliminates the mess of tangled power cords behind the desk.
Saves Time
Several businesses use touch-screen technology to accelerate
their speed of service, allowing customers to serve themselves at touch-screen
kiosks. Customers use these self-serve kiosks for simple services, such as
purchasing movie tickets, paying bills or accessing account information
quickly. As a result, businesses can offer shorter lines and reduced wait times
for other customers, while reducing the need to hire, train and pay employees.
Thus we can conclude that Touch screen devices are user friendly
and have many advantages that will be beneficial for the Touch Screen users.
Disadvantages
• Although user
friendly, touch screen can not be used to enter large amount of data
• This
technology has not found in real world applications because system designers
have not carefully considered how the system will function.
• Another
failure of the industry has been not getting fast enough processing behind the
buttons
• A
touch screen system will cost about two or three times of the amount of an
existing keyboard display.
Touch
screen and monitors together are expensive ranging from two and half times the
price of a standard computer.
Article By Sreekar Chintalapati
Sreekar Chinatalapati is currently pursuing his B.tech in VIT University, a known one for his style of speaking,writing and an upcoming writer.Other Articles :
Post a Comment