Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

Ariel Nyatondo:10R
Computer Science Project

Input and Output Devices

Input Devices
1. Barcode Scanner
(+) How it works
- A barcode scanner is used to interpret barcodes.
- These are virtual representations of data encoded into parallel
lines or patterns.
- They have light source and a photosensor to detect the light
and dark regions of the pattern.
- The numbers 0-9 are each represented by a unique series of
lines.
-. Each digit is represented by bars of 1 – 4 blocks.
- Each digit is made up of 2 dark lines and two light lines.
-The numbers on the left side consistently feature an odd quantity of dark elements and
invariably start with a light bar. Conversely, the numbers on the right side consistently exhibit
an even number of dark elements and invariably commence with a dark bar.
-What happens when barcode is scanned?
 The barcode is scanned by either a red laser or a red LED.
 Light is bounced back from the barcode; the regions of darkness reflect minimal or
no light, enabling the bars to be interpreted.
 Sensors detect and interpret the reflected light.
 As the laser or LED light sweeps across the barcode, it generates a pattern, which is
then translated into digital data. This process enables the computer to comprehend
the barcode.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

(+) Requirements
- They are efficient by quickly and accurately capturing information encoded in barcodes.
- They enable automation of processes in various industries.
- Helps with real time tracking of inventory levels, which aids for out-of-stock situations and
prevent over stocking.

2. Digital Camera

(+) How it works

- They are controlled by an embed system which allows them to:
 Adjust the shutter speed.
 Focus the image automatically.
 operate the flash gun automatically.
 adjust the aperture size.
 adjust the size of the image.

- What happens when a photograph is taken?

- The image is captured as light travels through the lens onto a light-sensitive cell composed of
millions of miniature sensors, functioning as photodiodes (specifically, charge-coupled devices or
CCDs), converting light into electricity.
- The sensors are frequently called pixels because they are diminutive components that collectively
constitute the image.
- The image undergoes a transformation into small electric charges, which are subsequently
transmitted through an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce a digital array of images.
- The ADC translates the electric charges from each pixel into brightness levels.
- In addition to brightness, the sensors also capture colour, resulting in another binary pattern. Most
cameras employ a 24-bit RGB system, where each pixel consists of 8 bits representing each of the
three primary colours. This implies that each pixel has a red value ranging from 0 to 255, a green
value ranging from 0 to 255, and a blue value ranging from 0 to 255.
- The file size needed to store a photograph depends on the number of pixels.
- The quality of the image is influenced by factors such as the recording device, the number of pixels
utilized, the levels of light, and the method of storing the image.

(+) Requirements
- They rely on electronic image sensors like CCD or CMOS.
- They make use of image processing algorithms to enhance digital images, reduce noise, compressing
files whilst maintaining quality and correcting colours.
- They are used in computer vision applications.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

3. Keyboard

(+) How it works

- The keyboard can be linked to the computer through
either a USB connection or wirelessly.
- Every character on a keyboard possesses an ASCII value,
and when a key is pressed, it's transformed into a digital
signal that the computer understands.
- This is how a computer recognises a letter pressed on the
keyboard:

 Beneath the keys, there exists a membrane or circuit board.

 Subsequently, the CPU within the computer can ascertain the pressed key.
 The CPU utilizes an index file to correlate the key press with its corresponding character.
 Every character on the keyboard is linked to an ASCII value.

(+) Requirements
- Allows users to provide textual and command-based input to software applications.
- Keyboards facilitate the input of characters, which are encoded according to standards like ASCII or
Unicode.
- Device drivers for keyboards help to enable communication between the keyboard hardware and the
operating system.

4. Microphone

(+) How it works

- They can either be built into the pc or are external devices
connected through a USB or using Bluetooth
- A microphone can transform sound waves into an
electrical signal. This electrical signal is then converted into a digital format, allowing a
computer to either process or store it.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

- This is how it is processed:

 When sound is created, it causes the air to vibrate.
 When a diaphragm in the microphone picks up the air vibrations, the diaphragm also
vibrates.
 A copper coil is wrapped around the cone which is connected to the
diaphragm. As the diaphragm vibrates, the cone moves in and out causing the
copper coil to move backwards and forwards.
 This forwards and backwards motion cause the coil to cut through the
magnetic field around the permanent magnet, inducing an electric current.
 The electric current is then either amplified or sent to a recording device. The
electric current is analogue in nature.

- The electric current generated by the microphone can additionally be directed to a computer, where
a sound card converts it into a digital signal. This digital signal can then be stored within the
computer.

(+) Requirements
- Essential for capturing audio input so that users can record speech, music or other sound sources.
- Microphones facilitate audio communication in various applications, such as VoIP calls, video
conferencing, and online gaming.
- Microphones can be utilized in data analysis tasks, such as audio signal processing, acoustic event
detection and environmental monitoring.

5. Optical Mouse

(+) How it works

- This is an example of a pointing device.
- Uses tiny cameras to capture 1500 images per second.
- An optical mouse can function on practically any surface.
- In the base of the mouse, a red LED is employed, emitting light that
reflects off the surface. The reflected light is then detected by a CMOS sensor.
- The CMOS sensor generates electric pulses to represent the reflected red light, which are then
transmitted to a DSP.
- The processor can now work out the coordinates of the mouse based on the
changing image patterns as it is moved about on the surface. The computer can
then move the on-screen cursor to the coordinates sent by the mouse.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

(+) Requirements
- The electric pulses generated by the sensor in response to reflected light need to be processed
effectively.
- Optical mice often require driver software to be installed on the computer to ensure compatibility
and enable additional features or customization options.
- Optical mice must incorporate error handling mechanisms to deal with issues such as surface
irregularities, environmental lighting conditions, or sensor malfunctions.

6. QR code scanner

(+) How it works

- QR code scanning app:

 A phone camera will scan the QR code.

 The app will then process the image taken and convert
the squares into readable data.
 The software will automatically read data that was
generated by the app and it’ll also decode any web
addresses from the QR code.
 Then this will automatically send the user to the website.

(+) Requirements
- QR code scanners allow users to input data quickly and accurately by scanning QR codes which can
open several types of data like URLs, contact info or product details.
- QR code scanners extract encoded information from QR codes. This extracted data can then be used
for further processing or analysis.
- They play a role in security by allowing users to verify the authenticity of QR codes before scanning
them.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

7. Touch screens

(+) How it works

- Capacitive Touchscreen
- Made of a layer of glass, a transparent electrode layer and a glass substrate.
- When bare fingers touch the screen, the electrostatic field
of the conductive layer is changed to prevent human skin
from conducting the electricity.
- The microcontroller that's set up can figure out where this
change happened and then find out the exact spot where
something was touched.
- There are two main types of Capacitive touch screens:

 Surface Capacitive screen:

o Sensors are positioned at the edges of a
screen.
o Tiny amounts of electricity are also sent to the corners of the screen, making an electric
field.
o When a finger touches the screen, it draws some current from each corner, which
decreases the capacitance.
o A microcontroller measures the decrease in capacitance to figure out the exact point
where the finger touched the screen.
o And this will only works with bare finger.

 Projective Capacitive screen:

o The transparent conductive layer is now arranged in an X-Y matrix pattern which
creates a 3D electrostatic field.
o When a finger touches the screen, it changes the 3D electric field, microcontroller can
figure out where the touch happened.
o This system can be used with bare fingers, a stylus, and thin surgical or cotton gloves. It
also lets you use multiple fingers at the same time.

- Infrared Touchscreens
- They use a glass screen with an array of sensors and infrared
transmitters.
- The sensors can detect infrared radiation. If any of the beams of
infrared light are interrupted, the amount of infrared radiation
reaching the sensors decreases.
- The sensor readings are sent to a microcontroller that calculates
where the screen was touched.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

- Resistive Touchscreens
- Made up of two layers of electrically resistive material with a
voltage applied across them.
- The top layer is created from flexible polyethylene with a special
coating that resists electricity on one side.
- The bottom layer is made of glass and has a coating on one side that
resists damage.
- The layers are separated by air or an inert gas.
- When the upper polyethene surface is touched, the two layers will
make contact.
- Because both layers have a resistive material on them, a circuit is formed, allowing electricity to
flow.
- Where contact was made is where the change in voltage is which will signal as to where the screen
made contact.
- A microcontroller will change this voltage to digital data and from there it is sent to the
microprocessor.

(+) Requirements
- Enable intuitive interactions with devices and users.
- Provide help to patients monitoring systems and diagnostic equipment.
- Provides accessibility to disabled individuals.

8. Scanners

(+) How it works

- 2D Scanners
- Mostly used to input hard copy documents.
- The picture changes into a digital version that can be kept
inside a computer.
- Computers that have optical character recognition (OCR)
software can change the scanned text from the document into a
text file format so that the image can be edited and manipulated
into a word processor.
- I the document was an image, it’ll be stored as a JPEG in the computer.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

- 3D Scanners
- They scan objects and create a solid three-dimensional object.
- Because solid objects have x, y, and z coordinates, these scanners
capture images at multiple points along these three coordinates.
- The scanned images can be employed in computer-aided design
(CAD) to create a functional model based on the scanned image.
- Lasers, magnetic resonance and white light are examples of the
technology used in 3D scanners.

(+) Requirements
- Generate digital representations of real-world objects.
- 3D scanners are valuable for reverse engineering processes. They create the digitization of physical
objects to understand their design, functionality, and manufacturing process.
- 2D scanners such as fingerprint scanners and iris scanners, are used for biometric authentication and
identification.

Output Devices

1. Actuator
(+) How it works
- It's a machine that can be mechanical or electromechanical, like a switch,
coil, or engine.
- Converts digital signals or instructions from a computer into physical
movement or action.
- It works by receiving commands from the computer and then generating
mechanical movement or applying force to perform a specific task.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

(+) Requirements
- Crucial part for robots because it helps them move.
- They are used in automated systems where they can control valves, switches and other mechanical
components.
- Actuators are employed in environmental monitoring and control systems to regulate parameters
such as temperature, humidity, and airflow.

2. DLP Projector
(+) How it works
- They work by using millions of tiny mirrors on a small digital micromirror device (DMD chip).
- The resolution of the digital image depends on how many tiny mirrors there are and how they're set
up on the DMD chip.
- When the small mirrors tilt toward the light source, they're switched on. When they
tilt away from the light source, they're turned off which creates a dark or light pixel on
the projection screen.
- Greyscale image is when the tiny mirrors can turn on or off thousands of times per
second, making different shades of grey. Usually, they can produce around 1024
different grey shades.

- A strong white light goes through a filter that separates it into red, green, and blue colours before
reaching the DMD chip. The DLP projector can make more than 16 million different colours this way.
Each tiny mirror's on and off positions relate to colours from the filter to create the coloured picture.

(+) Requirements
- Mostly used for presentations in classrooms.
- Popular for home entertainment systems providing high-quality images for watching movies or
shows.
- Used in VR applications for displaying virtual environments and overlaying digital information onto
the real world.

3. Inkjet Printer
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

(+) How it works

- They are made up of:

 A print head, which is made up of nozzles that spray tiny drops of ink onto the paper to make
letters and shapes.
 You can have ink cartridges in two ways: either one cartridge for each colour along with a
black one, or a single cartridge that has all three colours plus black.
 A stepper motor and belt work together to move the print head assembly across the page,
going from one side to the other.
 A paper feed is a part of the printer that automatically supplies pages to the printer as needed.
- Ink is produced in either two ways;

 Thermal Bubble
o Tiny resistors generate heat in specific areas, causing the ink to turn into vapor.
o As a result, the ink forms a small bubble. When the bubble grows, some of the ink is
pushed out of the print head onto the paper.
o When the bubble collapses, it creates a small vacuum, pulling new ink into the print
head and repeats itself until printing is done.

 Piezoelectric
o Behind each nozzle, there's a crystal in the ink tank. This crystal gets a tiny electric
charge, causing it to vibrate.
o The vibration pushes ink out onto the paper, while making more ink for the next
printing.

- The following process is always done before printing:

1. The data from the document goes to a printer driver.
2. The printer driver checks and adjusts the data to a format the printer can understand.
3. The printer driver checks if the printer is ready to print.
4. The data is sent to the printer and stored temporarily in a printer buffer.
5. Paper is fed into the printer, and a sensor checks if there's enough paper. If there's an issue
like no paper or a paper jam, an error message is sent.
6. The print head moves across the paper, printing the text or image with the right ink colours.
7. After each pass, the paper moves slightly to print the next line until the page is done.
8. If there's more data in the printer buffer, the process repeats until the buffer is empty.
9. When the buffer is empty, the printer signals the computer for more data, and the process
continues until the document is fully printed.

(+) Requirements
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

- It's often used for printing just one photo or when only a few pages of really good quality are
needed.
- Drivers translate the printer's commands into a format that the operating system can understand.
- Inkjet printers communicate with computers using various communication protocols.

4. Laser Printer
(+) How it works
- Laser printers use dry powder ink instead of liquid ink. They use
static electricity to create text and images.
- Laser printers print the whole page at once whereas inkjet printers
don’t do the same.
- Even though the technology is different from black-and-white
printers, the way they print is similar, however coloured dots are
used to create the text and images.

- The following process is always done before printing:

1. Data from the document goes to a printer driver.
2. The printer driver makes sure the data is in a format the chosen printer understands.
3. The printer driver checks if the printer is available to print (like if it's busy or out of ink).
4. The data goes to the printer and is stored temporarily in a printer buffer.
5. The printing starts with a drum getting a positive charge. A laser removes some of the
charge, leaving charged areas matching what needs to be printed.
6. The drum gets coated with positively charged toner (powdered ink), which sticks to the
charged areas.
7. A negatively charged paper is rolled over the drum.
8. The toner on the drum sticks to the paper, making an exact copy of the page.
9. To stop the paper from sticking to the drum, the electric charge on the paper is removed
after one rotation of the drum.
10. The paper goes through heated rollers called a fuser. The heat melts the ink, making it
stay on the paper permanently.
11. At the end, a discharge lamp removes all the electric charge from the drum, getting it
ready to print the next page.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

(+) Requirements
- They create excellent printouts and work quickly, especially when making many copies of a
document.
- Process digital images to create printable documents.
- Laser printers communicate with computers via various communication protocols.

5. LED screen
(+) How it works
- It is made up Light Emitting Diodes.
- Each LED can be red, green, or blue. By adjusting the electric
current to each LED, we can control how bright it shines, creating
a wide variety of colours.

(+) Requirements
- They're used for big outdoor screens because they produce very bright and vibrant colours.
- Rely on graphics processing units to render and display graphics.
- Require accurate colour management techniques to reproduce colours faithfully.

6. LCD Projector
(+) How it works
- They are made up of tiny liquid crystals.
- These small crystals form a grid of pixels that change when
electric fields are applied to them and they require some sort of
blacklight.
- LCDs don’t produce light by themselves, they’re backlit by
LED technology.
- LED backlighting gives a very good contrast and brightness
range.
- Before LEDs became common, LCD screens used CCFLs for backlighting.
- Basically, CCFL uses two fluorescent tubes behind the LCD screen to provide light. When LEDs are
used, a grid of small blue-white LEDs is placed behind the LCD screen instead.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

- LEDs have become increasingly popular as a method of backlighting due to several advantages over
older CCFL technology:

 LEDs reach maximum brightness almost instantly, without needing to warm up.
 LEDs produce a whiter light that sharpens images and makes colours more vivid, compared to
the slightly yellowish tint of CCFL.
 LEDs create a brighter light, improving colour definition.
 Monitors using LED technology are much thinner than those using CCFL.
 LEDs last a long time, making the technology more reliable and resulting in a more consistent
product.
 LEDs consume very little power, producing less heat and using less energy overall.

(+) Requirements
- LCD projectors process digital images to display content.
- They have embedded firmware that controls their operation.
- May incorporate advanced projection technologies such as lens shift, optical zoom, or edge
blending.

7. Speakers
(+) How it works
- They produce sound.
- When connected to a computer system, digitized sound stored in a file
is converted into sound like this:

 The digital data goes through a digital-to-analogue converter,

turning it into an electric current.
 This current goes through an amplifier to make it strong
enough to power a loudspeaker.
 Finally, the current goes to the loudspeaker, where it's turned into sound.
- If the sound is stored in a computer file, it needs to go through a digital-to-analogue converter
(DAC). This converts the binary data into an analogue form which can then be used to drive the
loudspeaker.
- How a loudspeaker converts the electric current into sound:

 When an electric current flows through the coil of wire wrapped around an iron core, the core
turns into a temporary electromagnet. There's also a permanent magnet close to this
electromagnet.
 As the electric current changes in the coil of wire, the magnetic field in the iron core also
changes. This pulls the iron core towards the permanent magnet, making the core vibrate as
the current changes.
 Because the iron core is connected to a cone, the vibrating core makes the cone vibrate too,
creating sound waves.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

(+) Requirements
- Speakers typically receive digital audio data from the computer, which needs to be converted into
analogue signals for playback.
- Audio compression algorithms and encoding techniques reduce the size of audio files while
maintaining acceptable audio quality.
- Software for applying audio effects and processing techniques to enhance the audio playback
experience.

8. 3D Printer
(+) How it works
- They are used to form solid objects.
- They're mostly built using inkjet and laser printer methods. The solid
object is created layer by layer using materials.
- Features of 3D printers:

 They come in various sizes.

 3D printers use additive manufacturing, which is quite different from traditional subtractive
manufacturing.
 In subtractive manufacturing, you would carve away material until the final item is made.
 Direct 3D printing works like an inkjet printer. It has a print head that moves from side to side
as usual. But it can also move up and down to build the layers of an object.
 Binder 3D printing is like direct 3D printing, but it works a bit differently. With this method,
it goes over each layer twice. First, it sprays dry powder, and then on the second pass, it
sprays a binder, like a type of glue, to make a solid layer.
 Newer technologies are starting to use lasers and UV light to make liquid polymers harden.
This expands the range of products that can be created even more.

(+) Requirements
- 3D printers require specific file formats to interpret and print objects.
- 3D models need to be sliced into layers, with each layer representing a cross-section of the final
object.
- 3D printers have embedded firmware that controls their operation.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

Sensors
Sensors

1. Acoustic Sensor
- Purpose: They Detect sound waves or vibrations.
- Type of Data Captured: They capture sound intensity, frequency
and direction.
- Where they’re used: Used for alarm systems, noise monitoring and
to detect abnormal sounds from industrial machinery.

2. Accelerometer Sensor
- Purpose: They measure acceleration, tilt and vibration in an object.
- Type of Data Captured: They capture speed along multiple axes.
- Where they’re used: In smartphones for screen orientation, in vehicles
for airbag deployment.

3. Flow Sensor
- Purpose: Sensors measure how fast a liquid or gas is moving and give a
signal based on how much liquid or gas flows over them.
- Type of Data Captured: They capture volume or mass flow rate.
- Where they’re used: In industrial processes, HVAC systems and water
management to monitor and control fluid flow.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

4. Gas Sensor
- Purpose: The most common ones are oxygen or carbon dioxide sensors.
They use different ways to detect the gas they're monitoring and give
signals that change depending on the levels of oxygen or carbon dioxide
present.
- Type of Data Captured: Concentration of specific gases.
- Where they’re used: In air quality monitoring, industrial safety and gas
leakage detection.

5. Humidity Sensor
- Purpose: Measures the amount of water vapour found in the air.
- Type of Data Captured: Relative humidity or absolute humidity.
- Where they’re used: In weather stations, HVAC systems and food
storage to control moisture levels.

6. Infra-red Sensor
- Purpose: They measure the heat given off by an object.
- Type of Data Captured: They measure radiation intensity or temperature.
- Where they’re used: Used in motion detection systems, temperature
measurement and night vision cameras.

7. Level Sensor
- Purpose: They use ultrasonic waves to find out if the liquid level in a tank
is changing. Or they can use capacitance or conductivity to measure the
level when it's not changing. Level sensors can also be optical or
mechanical.
- Type of Data Captured: Height or volume of the substance.
- Where they’re used: In industrial tanks, fuel tanks and agricultural silos
for inventory management and process control.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

8. Light Sensor
- Purpose: They use photoelectric cells that create an output (like an electric current)
based on how bright the light is.
- Type of Data Captured: Light intensity or illuminance.
- Where they’re used: In automatic lighting systems, photography and brightness
control in displays.

9. Magnetic Field Sensor

- Purpose: Sensors detect changes in magnetic fields. The signal they give out
depends on how the magnetic field changes.
- Type of Data Captured: They can capture magnetic field strength and
polarity.
- Where they’re used: They’re used in compasses, navigation systems and
proximity detection

10.pH Sensor
- Purpose: They measure acidity by noticing how voltages change.
- Type of Data Captured: They capture the pH level in different
substances.
- Where they’re used: They're used in checking water quality,
farming and lab tests.

11.Pressure Sensor
- Purpose: A transducer creates various electric currents based on the
pressure it feels.
- Type of Data Captured: They capture pressure level.
- Where they’re used: It's used in barometers, tire pressure monitoring
system, and controlling industrial processes.
Ariel Nyatondo:10R Computer Science Project

12.Proximity Sensor
- Purpose: It notices if something is close by.
- Type of Data Captured: They capture distance or presence and/or
absence of an object
- Where they’re used: They're used in thermostats, weather stations,
factories and medical tools.

13.Temperature Sensor
- Purpose: It checks how hot or cold things are by sending signals.
The signals change as the temperature changes.
- Type of Data Captured: They capture temperature levels.
- Where they’re used: They're used in thermostats, weather stations,
factories and medical equipment.