COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

CS 120
Input Devices, Methods and Systems
Introduction
Input technologies allow people and other technologies to enter data into a computer. We
distinguish between human data-entry devices and Source data-entry devices. We might also
categorize input broadly as direct and indirect. The term ‘direct’ should be interpreted to mean
that data is in a form suitable for processing without the need for data conversion. Some systems
have what may be called direct input media, such as optical marks on source documents but convert
them into magnetic tape media prior to input to the computer. ‘Indirect’ input refers to when the
data on the media is first converted before processing. Many different devices are used for
providing information and data to computers. Keyboards are the most common input devices. The
desire to avoid typing, more properly called key entry, has led to the development of devices such
as optical character readers, bar code readers, and magnetic character readers. With those
technologies, it is possible for a computer to read information directly from a sheet of paper or
special label. In many supermarkets scanners are used to read the universal product code (UPC)
information on items that you purchase. Bar codes are used for other purposes as well. For
example, automotive parts are tracked during the assembly of a motor vehicle with such labels.
This is faster, cheaper, and less subject to error than traditional tracking methods. Magnetic
characters are used on cheques, and optical character readers are often used on price tags in
department stores.

Input Unit
The input unit gets the data and programs from various input devices and makes them available
for processing to other units of the computer. The input data is provided through input devices,
such as—keyboard, mouse, trackball and joystick. Input data can also be provided by scanning
images, voice recording, video recording, etc. Irrespective of the kind of input data provided to a
computer, all input devices must translate the input data into a form that is understandable by the
computer, i.e., in machine readable form. The transformation of the input data to machine readable
form is done by the input interface of the input device.

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In brief, the input unit accepts input data from the user via input device, transforms the input data
in computer acceptable form using input interface for the input device and provides the transformed
input data for processing.

INPUT DEVICES
Input devices allow users and other applications to input data into the computer, for processing.
The data input to a computer can be in the form of text, audio, video, etc. The data is entered
manually by the user or with minimal user intervention. Input devices are classified as follows—
• Human data entry devices
o Keyboard
o Punched paper tape
o Pointing devices—mouse, trackball, joystick, digitizing tablet
o Pick devices—light pen, touch screen
• Source data entry devices

o Audio input—speech recognition

o Video input—digital camera

o Scanner—hand-held scanner, flatbed scanner

o Optical Scanner—OCR, OMR, MICR, barcode reader

The input is provided to the computer using an input device, and must be translated to a form that
the computer can understand. The translation is done by the input interface of the input device. In
addition to the above devices, the input to a computer can also be provided from a storage device
on the computer, another computer, or another piece of equipment, such as a musical instrument,
thermometer or sensors.

HUMAN DATA ENTRY DEVICES

Input devices that require data to be entered manually to the computer are identified as human data
entry devices. The data may be entered by typing or keying in, or by pointing a device to a
particular location.

Keyboard
Features - Keyboard is a common input device. It is provided along with the computer, and is easy
to use. It is used for entering the text data. For inputting the data, the user types the data using the
keyboard. When the data is being typed, the display monitor displays the typed data. Cursor is a
vertical line, an underscore, blinking line, etc. Cursor moves with each typed character. The
position of cursor indicates the location on monitor where the typed-in character will be displayed.
Description The design of a keyboard is similar to a standard typewriter. The modern keyboards

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are QWERTY keyboard (Q, W, E, R, T, Y are the sequence of keys in top row of letters). Standard
keyboard contains 101 keys which are arranged in the same order as a typewriter. The keyboard
has five sections
1. Typing keys (1, 2, 3..., A, B, C...),
2. Numeric keypad (numeric keys on right side),
3. Function keys (F1, F2... on top side),
4. Control keys (cursor keys, ctrl, alt...), and
5. Special-purpose keys (Enter, shift, spacebar...). Some keyboards have 110 keys, where the
extra keys are designed to work with the Windows operating system.

Working: When a key is pressed, keyboard interacts with a keyboard controller and keyboard
buffer. The keyboard controller stores the code of pressed key in keyboard buffer and informs the
computer software that an action has happened on the keyboard. The computer software checks
and reads the keyboard buffer and passes the code of pressed character to the system software. Due
to a time gap between pressing of a key on keyboard and reading by the system software, keyboard
buffer is designed to store many keystrokes together.

Punched Paper Tape and Card Readers

Punched cards were among the very first computer input media. The standard card is composed
of 80 columns, each divided into 12 rows. As characters are typed through a keypunch, they are
recorded as patterns of holes in a column; for each possible row/column position, there either is or
is not a hole. A card reader converts the hole-patterns to electronic form. Large computers in the
past tended to use either punched card or paper tape input but this has been phased out. Input of
information was punched in coded machine-readable form on continuous rolls of paper tape or
cards. This used to be the principal form of data input.

Punched cards and paper tapes, as input media, involved time-consuming and costly punching and
verifying operations.
Pointing Devices
Pointing devices are used for providing the input to computer by moving the device to point to a
location on computer monitor. The input data is not typed; instead, the data is entered by moving
the pointing device. The cursor on the computer monitor moves with the moving pointing device.
Operations like move, click and drag can be performed using the pointing devices.
Mouse, trackball, joystick and digitizing tablet are some of the common pointing devices.

Mouse
Features - It is the most common pointing input device. The data is entered by pointing the mouse
to a location on the computer screen. The mouse may also be used to position the cursor on screen,

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move an object by dragging, or select an object by clicking. The key benefit of using a mouse is
that the cursor moves with the mouse. So, the cursor can be positioned at any location on the screen
by simply moving the mouse. Moreover, it provides an easy way to select and choose commands
from menus, dialog boxes, icons, etc. Mouse is used extensively, while working with graphics
elements such as line, curve, shapes, etc.
Description - Mouse is a small hand-held device having two or three buttons on its upper side. In
addition to the buttons, mouse also has a small wheel between the buttons. The wheel of the mouse
is used for the up and down movement, for example, scrolling a long document. A mouse is
classified as physical mouse or optical mouse.
Physical Mouse has a rubber ball on the bottom side that protrudes when the mouse is moved. It
requires a smooth, dust free surface, such as a mouse pad, on which it is rolled.
Optical Mouse uses a Light Emitting Diode (LED) and a sensor to detect the movement of mouse.
Optical mouse requires an opaque flat surface underneath it. Optical mouse was introduced by
Microsoft in 1999. Optical mouse is better than physical mouse as there is no moving part that can
cause wear and tear, and dirt cannot get inside it.
Working - In a physical mouse, rollers and sensors are used to sense the direction and rate of
movement of mouse. When the ball of mouse moves, the rollers sense the horizontal and vertical
movement and sensors sense the speed of movement. This information is passed to computer via
the mouse chord. When an optical mouse is moved, a beam of light is reflected from its underside.
These pulses of light determine the direction and rate of movement. This information is sent to
computer via the mouse chord.
Using the mouse - The mouse can be used in five different ways, as follows—
• Pointing points to a location or object on the computer screen. Moving the mouse by hand
moves the cursor on computer screen. The cursor moves in the direction in which the mouse
moves.
• Left Click or Click means pressing the left button of mouse and releasing it. Clicking is
used to select a button, command or icon on the screen.
• Right Click involves pressing the right button on mouse and releasing it. Right click
displays a menu that contains options like cut, copy, paste, font, paragraph, etc. for the item
on which the mouse is pointing.
• Double Click means pressing the left button of mouse twice successively, without moving
the mouse, and then releasing the mouse. It is used to start a program or open a folder.
• Drag and Drop drags an object and drops it at another location. Drag means pointing mouse
to an object on screen, pressing the left button of mouse, keeping it pressed and moving the
mouse to point to a new location. The object gets dragged to the new location along with
the mouse. When the left button of mouse is released, the object gets dropped at the new
location. Drag and drop is used for moving folders, files and icons to new locations on the
screen.

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Trackball
Features Trackball is a device that is a variant of the mouse but has the functionality of mouse. It
is easy to use and takes less space than a mouse. Trackball is generally built in laptops since there
is no space for the mouse to move on the lap. Trackballs come in various sizes—small and big.
Description Trackball looks like an upside-down mouse. Instead of moving the whole device to
move the cursor on computer screen, trackball requires the ball to be rotated manually with a finger.
The trackball device remains stationary. The cursor on the computer screen moves in the direction
in which the ball is moved. The buttons on trackball are used in the same way as mouse buttons.
A trackball is shown in Figure 4.4.
Working Trackball works in the same way as a physical mouse.

Joystick
Features Joystick is a device which is commonly used for playing video games. Joystick is mainly
used to control the speed of the cursor and is thus popular in games involving speed like racing
and flying games. The direction of push of the stick and the amount of deflection determines the
change in position and the change in speed, respectively.
Description It is a stick with its base attached to a flexible rubber sheath inside a plastic cover.
The plastic cover contains the circuit that detects the movement of stick and sends the information
to computer. The position of the stick movement is given by the x and y coordinates of the stick.

Digitizing Tablet
Features - It is an input device used primarily to input drawings, sketches, etc. Digitizing tablet is
used for Computer Aided Design (CAD) for the design of buildings, automotive designs, and
designing of maps, etc. Description Digitizing tablet consists of two parts—electronic tablet and
pen. The electronic tablet is a flat bed tablet. The pen looks like a ball pen but has an electronic
head. The pen in moved on the tablet. Each position on the tablet corresponds to a fixed position
on the screen.
Drawings can be made on the tablet using a pen, and is provided as input to computer, where, a
location on the tablet corresponds to a specific location on the screen.
The tablet contains circuit that can detect the movement of pen on the tablet, convert the
movements into digital signals and send the digital signal to the computer.

Pick Devices
Pick devices are used for providing input to the computer by pointing to a location on the computer
monitor. The input data is not typed; the data is entered by pointing the pick device directly on the
computer screen. Light pen and touch screen are some common pick devices.

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Light Pen
It is a light sensitive pen-like input device and is used to select objects directly on the computer
screen. It is used for making drawing, graphics and for menu selection. Figures and drawings can
be made by moving the pen on computer screen.
The pen contains a photocell in a small tube. When the pen is moved on the screen, light from the
screen at the location of pen causes the photocell to respond. The electric response is transmitted
to the computer that can identify the position on screen at which the light pen is pointing.

Touch Screen
It is an input device that accepts input when the user places a fingertip on the computer screen. The
computer selects the option from the menu of screen to which the finger points. Touch screen are
generally used in applications like Automated Teller Machine (ATM), public information
computers like hospitals, airline reservation, railway reservation, supermarkets, etc.
Touch screen consists of a clear glass panel that is placed over the view area of computer screen.
In addition to the glass panel with sensors, it has a device driver, and a controller that translates
the information captured by the glass panel sensors to a form that the computer can understand.
Touch screens have an infrared beam that criss-cross the surface of screen. When a fingertip is
touched on the screen, the beam is broken, and the location is recorded. Some touch screens have
ultrasonic acoustic waves that cross the surface of screen. When a fingertip is touched on the
screen, the wave is interrupted, and the location is recorded. The recorded location is sent to the
computer via the controller of touch screen, in a form that the computer can understand.

SOURCE DATA ENTRY DEVICES

Source data entry devices are used for audio input, video input and to enter the source document
directly to the computer. Source data entry devices do not require data to be typed-in, keyed-in or
pointed to a particular location.

CASH TRANSACTION DEVICES

Various input devices are common in association with cash transactions. The most common are
ATMs – Automated Teller Machines and POS – Point of Sale terminals.

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)

Plastic cards with a magnetic stripe are widely used as cash cards, credit cards and library cards.
The magnetic stripe typically holds about 72 characters of information. Most banks now dispense
cash via cash machines, known as Automated Teller machines (ATMs), using a special keypad
and a magnetic stripe reader. The customer’s card is encoded with:

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 • The customer’s account number
• His/her Personal identification Number (PIN) held in encoded form
• The bank’s sort code
• The customer’s withdrawal limit
• The amount withdrawn in the last time period (e.g. day).

ATMs are interactive input/output devices that enable people to make bank transactions from
remote locations. ATMs utilize touch screen input as well as magnetic card readers.

Point-of-Sale (POS) Terminals or Electronic Point of Sale Systems (EPOS)

These systems can be seen at the checkouts of most large modern supermarkets. A laser beam
reads the bar code on the item purchased, and the computer to which the scanning device is attached
then looks up the price of the item and the description, prints this information on the customer’s
receipt and adds the amount to the total. Some systems also adjust stock levels held in the
computer’s memory. POS terminals are computerized cash registers that also often incorporate
touch screen technology and bar-code scanners. These devices allow the input of numerous data
such as item sold, price, method of payment, name or Zip or Area code of the buyer, and so on.
Some inputs are automated; others may be entered by the operator, if they are not barcoded.

Audio Input Device

Audio input can be provided to the computer using human voice or speech. Audio input to the
computer can be used for different purposes. It can be used for making telephone calls, for audio
and video conferencing over Internet, to record voice, to create audio files and embed these files
to be sent over e-mail, or, to translate spoken words into text, etc.
Audio input devices like a microphone are used to input a person’s voice into the computer. A
sound card translates analog audio signals from microphone into digital codes that the computer
can store and process. Sound card also translates back the digital sound into analog signals that can
be sent to the speakers. Translating spoken words into text is also known as speech recognition or
voice recognition. The audio input along with the software for voice recognition forms the speech
recognition system or voice recognition system.
The computer can be operated using voice commands. The user can dictate the commands to the
computer, instead of typing them. The computer has to be trained to recognize the voice of user
using the speech patterns and pronunciation of words. The system thus adapts to the voice of user.
Speech recognition systems are costly and difficult to develop. They are generally used by people
who have difficulty in typing, people with disabilities or by corporate world for dictation. Audio
input can be recorded on an mp3 recorder and provided as an input to computer. Open source
software like Audacity is used for recording and editing of audio files.

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Video Input Device
Video input is provided to the computer using video camera and digital camera. Video camera can
capture full motion video images. The images are digitized and can be compressed and stored in
the computer disk. Webcam is a common video camera device. It is placed on the computer above
the screen to capture the images of the user who is working on the computer. A video capture card
allows the user to connect video devices like camcorders to the computer.
Digital camera works like video camera but can capture still images. The digital camera digitizes
images, compresses them and stores them on a memory card like flash memory. The information
from the digital camera can be brought into the computer and stored. The video files can be edited
using software like VLC media player. Computer vision is an area of computer science that deals
with images. Computer vision has applications in areas like robotics and industrial processing.
OPTICAL INPUT DEVICES
Optical input devices allow computers to use light as a source of input. Scanner is an example of
optical input device. Other common optical input devices are magnetic ink character reader used
for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR), optical mark reader used for Optical Mark
Recognition (OMR), optical character reader for Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and
Barcode Reader.

Scanner
Scanner is an input device that accepts paper document as an input. Scanner is used to input data
directly into the computer from the source document without copying and typing the data. The
input data to be scanned can be a picture, a text or a mark on a paper. It is an optical input device
and uses light as an input source to convert an image into an electronic form that can be stored on
the computer. Scanner accepts the source paper document, scans the document and translates it
into a bitmap image to be stored on the computer. The denser the bitmap, the higher is the
resolution of the image. The quality of scan increases with the increase in resolution. Scanners
come with utility software that allows the stored scanned documents to be edited, manipulated and
printed. Hand-held scanner and flat-bed scanner are the two common types of scanners.
Hand-held Scanners are portable and are placed over the document to be scanned. They consist of
light emitting diodes. The scanned documents are converted and stored as an image in the computer
memory. Hand-held scanners have to be moved at a constant speed over the document to be
scanned, to get good quality scans. They are preferably used for low volume of documents, small
pictures or photos. They are difficult to use if there is a need to scan a full page document. Some
of the documents that are primarily scanned using hand-held scanners are price tags, label and
ISBN number on books.
Flat-bed Scanners provide high quality scan in a single pass. It is a box shaped machine similar to
a photocopy machine and has a glass top and a lid that covers the glass. The document to be
scanned is placed on the glass top, which activates the light beam beneath the glass top and starts
the scan from left to right. They are largely used to scan full page documents.

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Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
OCR is a technique for the scanning of a printed page, translating it, and then using the OCR
software to recognize the image as ASCII text that is editable. OCR uses optical character reader
for recognition. The optical character reader stores the scanned image as bitmap image which is a
grid of dots. Thus, you cannot edit the text that has been scanned. To edit the scanned text, you
need OCR software. The OCR software translates the array of dots into text that the computer can
interpret as words and letters. To recognize the words and letters of text, the OCR software
compares the pattern on the scanned image with the patterns stored inside the computer. The text
files generated via OCR can be stored in different formats. Figure 4.12 shows the working of the
OCR system.
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
MICR is used in banks to process large volumes of cheques. It is used for recognizing the magnetic
encoding numbers printed at the bottom of a cheque. The numbers on the cheque are human
readable, and are printed using an ink which contains iron particles. These numbers are
magnetized. MICR uses magnetic ink character reader for character recognition. When a cheque
is passed through Magnetic Ink Character Reader, the magnetic field causes the read head to
recognize the characters or numbers of cheque. The readers are generally used in banks to process
the cheques. The numbers in the bottom of the cheque include the bank number, branch number
and cheque number. The reading speed of MICR is faster than OCR.

Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)

OMR is used to detect marks on a paper. The marks are recognized by their darkness. OMR uses
an optical mark reader to read the marks. The OMR reader scans the forms, detects the mark that
is positioned correctly on the paper and is darker than the surrounding paper, and passes this
information to the computer for processing by application software. For this, it uses a beam of light
that is reflected on the paper with marks, to capture presence and absence of marks. The optical
mark reader detects the presence of mark by measuring the reflected light. The pattern of marks is
interpreted and stored in the computer.
OMR is widely used to read answers of objective type tests, where the student marks an answer by
darkening a particular circle using a pencil. OMR is also used to read forms, questionnaires, order
forms, etc. Figure 4.14 shows a marked OMR answer sheet.

Barcode Reader
Barcodes are adjacent vertical lines of different width that are machine readable. Goods available
at supermarkets use barcode for identification. Barcodes are read using reflective light by
barcode readers. This information is input to the computer which interprets the code using the
spacing and thickness of bars. Hand-held barcode readers are generally used in departmental
stores to read the labels, and in libraries to read labels on books.

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Barcode Readers are fast and accurate. They enable faster service to the customer and are also used
to determine the items being sold, number of each item sold or to retrieve the price of item.

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