From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This touch sensitive pad on the Acer Aspire 8920 laptop can increase and reduce the volume of the
speakers.

A touchscreen 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. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus.
Touchscreen is common in devices such as all-in-one computers,tablet computers, and
smartphones.

The touchscreen 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.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History

• 2 Technologies

o 2.1 Resistive

o 2.2 Surface acoustic wave

 o 2.3 Capacitive

 2.3.1 Surface capacitance

 2.3.2 Projected capacitance

 2.3.2.1 Mutual capacitance

 2.3.2.2 Self-capacitance

o 2.4 Infrared

o 2.5 Optical imaging

o 2.6 Dispersive signal technology

o 2.7 Acoustic pulse recognition

• 3 Construction

• 4 Development

• 5 Ergonomics and usage

o 5.1 Finger stress

o 5.2 Fingernail as stylus

o 5.3 Fingerprints

o 5.4 Combined with haptics

o 5.5 Gorilla arm

• 6 Screen protectors

• 7 See also

• 8 Notes

• 9 References

• 10 External links

[edit]History
The prototype[1] x-y mutual capacitance touchscreen (left) developed at CERN[2][3] in 1977 by Bent Stumpe, a
Danish electronics engineer, for the control room of CERN’s accelerator SPS (Super Proton Synchrotron). This
was a further development of the self capacitance screen(right), also developed by Stumpe at CERN[4]in 1972.

The first touch screen was a capacitive touch screen developed by E.A. Johnson at the Royal
Radar Establishment, Malvern, UK. The inventor briefly described his work in a short article
published in 1965[5] and then more fully - along with photographs and diagrams - in an article
published in 1967.[6] A description of the applicability of the touch technology for air traffic control
was described in an article published in 1968.[7]

Note: Contrary to many accounts,[8] while Dr. Sam Hurst played an important role in the
development of touch technologies, he neither invented the first touch sensor, nor the first touch
screen.)

Touchscreens first gained some visibility with the invention of the computer-assisted learning
terminal, which came out in 1975 as part of thePLATO project. Touchscreens have subsequently
become familiar in everyday life. Companies use touchscreens 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.

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 computers.
Similar to the PLATO IV system, the touch technology used employed infrared transmitters and
receivers mounted around the bezel of its 9" Sony Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), 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.
iPad tablet computer on a stand

The popularity of smart phones, PDAs and tablet computers, portable game consoles and many
types of information appliances is driving the demand and acceptance of common touchscreens,
for portable and functional electronics, with a display of a simple smooth surface and direct
interaction without any hardware (keyboard or mouse) between the user and content, less
accessories are required.

Touchscreens are popular in hospitality, and in heavy industry, as well as kiosks such as
museum displays or room automation, where keyboard andmouse 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.

[edit]Technologies

There are a variety of touchscreen technologies.

[edit]Resistive
Main article: Resistive touchscreen

A resistive touchscreen panel is composed of several layers, the most important of which are two
thin, 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.
[edit]Surface acoustic wave
Main article: Surface acoustic wave

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology uses ultrasonic waves that pass over the touchscreen
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 touchscreen panels can be damaged by outside
elements. Contaminants on the surface can also interfere with the functionality of the
touchscreen.[9]

[edit]Capacitive

Capacitive touchscreen of a mobile phone

Main article: Capacitive sensing

A capacitive touchscreen panel is one which consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a
transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO).[10][11] As the human body is also an electrical
conductor, touching the surface of the screen results in a distortion of the
screen'selectrostatic 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. Unlike a resistive touchscreen, one cannot use a capacitive touchscreen through
most types of electrically insulating material, such as gloves; one requires a special capacitive
stylus, or a special-application glove with finger tips that generate static electricity. This
disadvantage especially affects usability in consumer electronics, such as touch tablet PCs and
capacitive smartphones.
[edit]Surface capacitance

In this basic technology, only one side of the insulator is coated with a conductive layer. A
small voltage is applied to the layer, resulting in a uniform electrostatic field. When a conductor,
such as a human finger, touches the uncoated surface, a capacitor is dynamically formed. The
sensor's controller can determine the location of the touch indirectly from the change in
the capacitance as measured from the four corners of the panel. As it has no moving parts, it is
moderately durable but has limited resolution, is prone to false signals from parasitic capacitive
coupling, and needs calibration during manufacture. It is therefore most often used in simple
applications such as industrial controls and kiosks.[12]
[edit]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
similar interference 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.

[edit]Mutual capacitance

In mutual capacitive sensors, there is a capacitor at every intersection of each row and each
column. A 16-by-14 array, for example, would have 224 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-touch operation where multiple fingers, palms or styli can be accurately tracked at
the same time.

[edit]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.
[edit]Infrared

Infrared sensors mounted around the display watch for a user's touchscreen input on this PLATO V terminal in
1981. The monochromatic plasma display's characteristic orange glow is illustrated.

An infrared touchscreen uses an array of X-Y infrared LED and photodetector 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 touchscreen.
Unlike capacitive touchscreens, infrared touchscreens do not require any patterning on the glass
which increases durability and optical clarity of the overall system.

[edit]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 pinpointed 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.

[edit]Dispersive signal technology

Introduced in 2002 by 3M, this system uses sensors to detect the mechanical energy in the glass
that occurs due to a touch. Complex algorithms then interpret this information and provide the
actual location of the touch.[13] The technology claims to be unaffected by dust and other outside
elements, including scratches. Since there is no need for additional elements on screen, it also
claims to provide excellent optical clarity. Also, since mechanical vibrations are used to detect a
touch event, any object can be used to generate these events, including fingers and stylus. A
downside is that after the initial touch the system cannot detect a motionless finger.

[edit]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.[14] The screen hardware then
uses an algorithm to determine the location of the touch based on the transducer signals. The
touchscreen 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.

[edit]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 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 piezoelectric 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.

[edit]Development

Most touchscreen technology patents were filed during the 1970s and 1980s and have expired.
Touchscreen component manufacturing and product design are no longer encumbered
byroyalties or legalities with regard to patents and the use of touchscreen-enabled displays 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 use of touchscreens, the marginal cost of touchscreen technology is routinely
absorbed into the products that incorporate it and is nearly eliminated. Touchscreens now have
proven reliability. Thus, touchscreen displays are found today in airplanes, automobiles, gaming
consoles, machine control systems, appliances, and handheld display devices including
the Nintendo DS and the later multi-touch enabled iPhones; the touchscreen market for mobile
devices is projected to produce US$5 billion in 2009.[15]

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

[edit]Ergonomics and usage

[edit]Finger stress
An ergonomic problem of certain types of (resistive) touchscreens is their stress on human
fingers when used for more than a few minutes at a time, as significant pressure can be required,
depending upon the technologies involved. 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 ATMs).
Also, more accurate control is achieved with a stylus, because a finger is a rather broad and
ambiguous point of contact with the screen itself, but requires the user to possess fine motor
skills to hold such a stylus.

[edit]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 styluson 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.[citation needed] 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 used instead. This method does not work on capacitive touchscreens.

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[citation needed], 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.

[edit]Fingerprints

Touchscreens can suffer from the problem of fingerprints on the display. This can be mitigated by
the use of materials with optical coatingsdesigned to reduce the visible effects of fingerprint oils,
or oleophobic coatings as used in the iPhone 3G S, which lessen the actual amount of oil residue,
or by reducing skin contact by using a fingernail or stylus.

[edit]Combined with haptics

The user experience with touchscreens without tactile feedback or haptics can be difficult due to
latency or other factors. Research from the University of Glasgow Scotland [Brewster, Chohan,
and Brown 2007] demonstrates that sample users reduce input errors (20%), increase input
speed (20%), and lower their cognitive load (40%) when touchscreens are combined with haptics
or tactile feedback, [vs. non-haptic touchscreens].

[edit]Gorilla arm
The Jargon File dictionary of hacker slang defined "gorilla arm" as the failure to understand the
ergonomics of vertically mounted touchscreens for prolonged use. The proposition is that the
human arm held in an unsupported horizontal position rapidly becomes fatigued and painful, the
so-called "gorilla arm".[16] It is often cited as a prima facie example of what not to do in
ergonomics. Vertical touchscreens still dominate in applications such as ATMs and data kiosks in
which the usage is too brief to be an ergonomic problem.[citation needed]

Discomfort might be caused by previous poor posture and atrophied muscular systems caused by
limited physical exercise.[17] Fine art painters are also often subject to neck and shoulder pains
due to their posture and the repetitiveness of their movements while painting.[citation needed][18]

[edit]Screen protectors
Some touchscreens, primarily those employed in smartphones, use transparent plastic protectors
to prevent any scratches that might be caused by day-to-day use from beco