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m A touchscreen is an input device that allows users to operate a PC

by simply touching the display screen. Touch input is suitable for a wide
variety of computing applications. A touchscreen can be used with most
PC systems as easily as other input devices such as track balls or touch
pads.
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. A touch screen is based on CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) technology,
which accepts direct onscreen input.
Touch screens best suit applications that require frequent
interaction with non-technical users or must work in dirty environments.
The devices are easy to use and can tolerate dirt and moisture that would
quickly disable a keyboard or a mouse. Some Touch screens can work
through a 2-inch thick barrier. This feature can protect both the system
from user abuse and the user from the system¶s environment. Compact
designs can also benefit from touch screen technology. Because Touch
screens are integral to the display device, the screens e liminate the need
for a separate keypad. You can make hand -held devices with Touch
screens as small as the display itself.
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. The ability for direct onscreen input is facilitated by an external
(light pen) or an internal device (touch overlay and controller.
 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 .

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m A basic touch screen has three main components: a touch sensor, a

controller, and a software driver. The touch screen is an input device, so
it needs to be combined with a display and a PC or other device to make a
complete touch input system.
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 A touch screen sensor 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. There are several different touch sensor technologies on the
market today, each using a different method to detect touch input. The
sensor generally has an electrical current or signal going through it and
touching the screen causes a voltage or signal change. This voltage
change is used to determine the location of the touch to the screen.
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The controller 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. The controller is
usually installed inside the monitor for integrated monitors or it is housed
in a plastic case for external touch add-ons/overlays. The controller
determines what type of interface/connection you will need on the PC.
Integrated touch monitors will have an extra cable connection on the back
for the touchscreen. Controllers are available that can connect to a
Serial/COM port (PC) or to a USB port.m
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 The driver is a software update for the PC system that allows the
touchscreen 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. Most touch screen drivers today are a mouse-
emulation type driver. This makes touching the screen the same as
clicking your mouse at the same location on the screen. This allows the
touchscreen to work with existing software and allows new applications to
be developed without the need for touch screen specific programming.
Some equipment such as thin client terminals and specialized computer
systems either do not use software drivers or they have their own built-in
touch screen driver.
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The x and y coordinates of a touch on a 4-wire touch screen can be

read in two steps. First, Y+ is driven high, Y± is driven to ground, and the
voltage at X+ is measured. The ratio of this measured voltage to the drive
voltage applied is equal to the ratio of the y coordinate to the height of
the touch screen. The y coordinate can be calculated The x coordinate can
be similarly obtained by driving X+ high, driving X± to ground, and
measuring the voltage at Y+. The ratio of this measured voltage to the
drive voltage applied is equal to the ratio of the x coordinate to the width
of the touch screen. This measurement scheme can be seen in figure.
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 wire resistive touch screen features unrivaled accuracy, reliability,

superior light transmission, highest touch point density, touch input
variety. Impervious to environmental conditions such as liquid splashes,
contamination. The lifetime is up to 3 million finger to uches, much better
than 4 wire resistive touch screen.

 
   

Resistive touch screens are composed of two flexible sheets coated

with a resistive material and separated by an air gap or microdots. When
contact is made to the surface of the touch screen, the two sheets are
pressed together. On these two sheets there are horizontal and verti cal
lines that when pushed together, register the precise location of the
touch. Because the touchscreen senses input from contact with nearly any
object (finger, stylus/pen, palm) resistive touchscreens are a type of
"passive" technology.
 For example, during operation of a four-wire touchscreen, a
uniform, unidirectional voltage gradient is applied to the first sheet. When
the two sheets are pressed together, the second sheet measures the
voltage as distance along the first sheet, providing the X coordinat e.
When this contact coordinate has been acquired, the uniform voltage
gradient is applied to the second sheet to ascertain the Y coordinate.
These operations occur within a few milliseconds [1], registering the exact
touch location as contact is made.

Resistive touchscreens typically have high resolution (4096 x 4096

DPI or higher), providing accurate touch control. Because the touchscreen
responds to pressure on its surface, contact can be made with a finger or
any other pointing device.

Resistive touch screen monitor is composed of a flexible top layer

and a rigid bottom layer separated by insulating dots, attached to a touch
screen controller.

The inside surface of each of the two layers is coated with a

transparent metal oxide coating Pressing the flexible top sheet creates
electrical contact between the resistive layers, producing a switch closing
in the circuit.
 The controller gets the alternating voltages between the two layers
and converts them into the digital X and Y coordinates of the activated
area.

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The Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) technology is one of the most

advanced touch screen types. The technology is based on two transducers
(transmitting and receiving) placed for the both of X and Y axis on the
touch panel. The other important element of SAW is placed on the glass,
called reflector. The controller sends electrical signal to the transmitting
transducer, and transducer converts the signal into ultrasonic waves and
emits to reflectors that are lined up along the edge of the panel. After
reflectors refract waves to the receiving transducers, the receiving
transducer converts the waves into an electrical signal and send s back to
the controller. When a finger touches the screen, the waves are absorbed,
causing a touch even t to be detected at that point.
Compared to Resistive and Capacitive technologies, SAW technology
provides superior image clarity, resolution, and higher light transmission.
Because the panel is all glass, there are no layers that can be worn,
giving this technology the highest durability factor and also the highest
clarity. Disadvantages of Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) technology include
the facts that the touch screen must be touched by finger, gloved hand,
or soft-tip stylus (something hard like a pen won't work) and that the
touchscreen is not completely sealable, can be affected by large amounts
of dirt, dust, and or water in the environment.
The Surface Acoustic Wave technology is recommended for ATMs,
Amusement Parks, Banking and Financial Applications, public information
kiosks, computer based training, or other high traffic indoor
environments.

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The touchpad contains a two-layer grid of electrodes that are

connected to a sophisticated full -custom mixed signal integrated circuit
(IC) mounted on the reverse side of the pad. The upper layer contains
vertical electrode strips while the lower layer is comp osed of horizontal
electrode strips. The IC measures "Mutual capacitance" from each of the
horizontal electrodes to each of the vertical electrodes. A human finger
near the intersection of two electrodes modifies the mutual capacitance
between them, since a finger has very different dielectric properties than
air. When a user touches the screen, some of the charge is transferred to
the user, and makes the potential difference on the screen. After the
panel controller recognizes that, the controller will sen d the X-Y axis
information to the PC port.

The advantage is that capacitive technology transmits almost 90%

percent of the light from the screen. The superior efficiency gives
capacitive better than resistive technology.
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Surface capacitive touch technology is one of the most established

touch interfaces available today. Pioneered by MicroTouch Systems in the
mid-1980s, surface capacitive technology is the preferred solution for
public-access applications in contaminant -prone environments. It has a an
uniform conductive coating on a glass panel.

During operation, electrodes around the panel's edge evenly

distribute a low voltage across the conductive layer & creates an uniform
electric field. A finger touch draws current f rom each corner. Then the
controller measures the ratio of the current flow from the corners and
calculates the touch location .m

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Infrared technology uses infrared emitter -collector pairs to project

an invisible grid of light a small distance over the surface of the screen.
When a beam is interrupted, the absence of the signal at the collector is
detected and converted to an X/Y touch coordinate.

IR touch screen instantly truns LCD/PLASMA/front/rear projection

monitor into interactive display. Unlike most other technologies, the
Infrared based design offers superb image clarity. The original image
quality is preserved because there is no film in front of the display. After a
simple installation, the screen can be operated with either a finger, with
or without glove or a pen. Infrared technology can scale in size up to 100"
in diagonal. Features like no drift, scratch proof, water proof, dust
proof, sunlight operability present the IR touch screen an ideal choice for
interactive presentation, classroom whiteboard, command center, public
venue kiosks, info center directory, and many other interactive
applications.

Touch Screen Technology Comparison:

 There are many widely used touchscreen technologies. Each type of
screen has unique characteristics that can make it a better choice for
certain applications. To follow is a brief description of the 4 most common
technologies.
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4-Wire Resistive touchscreen technology is a reliable and affordable

technology that is widely used by individuals and in less demanding
workplace applications. It is pressure sensitive so it responds to any input
device, including finger, gloved hand, or pen stylus. Follow this link for
more information.

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-Wire Resistive touchscreen technology is used with both CRT and
LCD touch monitors.. It is a durable and accurate technology that is
widely used in demanding workplace applications such as point -of-sale
systems, industrial controls, and medical systems. It is pressure sensitive
so it responds to any input device, including finger, gloved hand, or pen
stylus. Follow this link for more information.

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Capacitive touchscreen technology is used with both CRT and LCD
touch monitors. It is a durable technology that is used in a wide range of
applications including point -of-sale systems, industrial controls, and public
information kiosks. It has a higher clarity than Resistive technology, but it
only responds to finger contact and will not work with a gloved hand or
pen stylus. Follow this link for more Information.
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 Surface Acoustice Wave touchscreen technology is also used with
both CRT and LCD touch monitors.. It is a very durable screen that is
widely used in applications such as computer based training and
information kiosk displays. It is a good choice for applications where
image clarity is important, but it may not perform well in extremely dirty

or dusty environments. Responds to finger or soft rubber tipped stylus.

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 Am Public Information Displays
Am Tourism displays, Trade show display
Am Customer Self-Services Stores
Am Restaurants
Am ATMs
Am Airline ticket terminals and Transportation hubs
Am Digital jukeboxes
Am Computerized gaming
Am Student Registration systems
Am Multimedia softwares
Am Scientific applications etc.

   

Touch screen technology will increase in significance as an I/O

technique for user oriented embedded systems. Vendors have been
steadily reducing or eliminating the weaknesses in touch sensors as well
as adding new capabilities.
This combination of steady improvement punctuated by innovation
will continue to broaden the range of applications that touch screens can
serve. With these improvements, touch screen technology has become a
viable user interface for many embedded systems. The inclusion of
electronic ink services in Windows 9x indicates that touch screens will
become a dominant interface. You need only to carefully match the
technology to the application environment.
Though the touch screen technology contains some limitations it¶s
very user friendly, fast, accurate, easy for the novices & fun to operate. It
has been widely accepted. And now by just modifying a little it can
replace the mouse and key board completely in near future.

  
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