Behind Touch Technology
Evolution in technology has given rise to the tremendous touch sensing technology that is implemented in many computing systems and being used by people around globe.Let's dig deeper and get to know more about this amazing technology.
As technology evolves in distinct ways,the nature of computing gets more user-friendly and efficient. The invention of the roller mouse had simplified the process of browsing and using a graphical interface. Furthermore,to add more comfort using the pointing device,the optical technology was invented which replaced the roller mouse. this made browsing and exploring even more hassle free. To deviate from complexities encountered using the optical mouse,a group of pioneers invented the touch screen.
THE TOUCH SCREEN
The touch screen technology which is usually used in computing systems allows a user to control a computer by simply touching the display using a finger or a stylus.It consists of three main components viz. the touch sensor,a software driver and a controller. We discuss in brief how these tree major components help in delivering the correct output with a single touch.
THE TOUCH SENSOR
The sensor within the touch screen is simply a glass plate,which when touched gives out a specific output on the screen. The Sensor within the display screen is placed in such a manner that maximum area on the screen can sense a touch and deliver appropriate output.
The sensor constantly applies a small voltage across the display screen.When an area on the screen is touched,there is a small change in the voltage and this mechanism is used to pinpoint the exact location of the touch on the screen.While this is the basic and most commonly used mechanism to detect a touch,different manufacturers use and implement different mechanisms to detect a touch on the screen.
THE CONTROLLER
Every touch screen has a controller which is basically a small computer that acts as a link between the sensor and the device's processor. This small computer is usually placed within the display. It takes all input from the touch sensor and converts it to data that the computer system can understand. This data contains the exact location of the touch.
SOFTWARE DRIVER
Last but not the least comes the software driver which is installed on the device that allows the touch screen and the device to work together. It directs the operating system on how to interpret a particular touch event sent from the controller. Nowadays,touch screen drivers are basically the mouse-emulation type driver which makes screen touching the same as a mouse-click.
An advantage of this is that the touch screen can work with existing software drivers. also,new applications produced would not require specific touch screen programming.
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