Input Devices and their uses

1. Keyboard
• used for data entry into applications software
• Typing in commands to the computer (for
example, PrtSc, Ctrl+P.)
• connected to the computer through a USB or
wireless connection.
• In tablets and mobile phones, the keyboard is
often virtual or a type of touchscreen technology
• the character on the keyboard is pressed, it is
converted into a digital signal.
• these devices can lead to injuries, such as
repetitive strain injury (RSI) in the hands and
wrists.
• Ergonomic keyboards can help to overcome
this RSI because of give more support to the
wrists and hands when doing a lot of typing.
 How the computer can recognize a letter
pressed on the keyboard:
• There is a membrane or circuit board at the
base of the keys.
• The CPU in the computer can then determine
which key has been pressed.
• The CPU refers to an index file to identify
which character the key press represents.
Advantages of keyboards
• Fast entry of new text into a document.
• Well-known method.
• Easy to use for most people.
• Easier to do verification checks as data is entered
Disadvantages of keyboards
• Can be difficult to use if the user has limited
arm/wrist use.
• Slow method when compared to direct data entry
• Fairly large device that uses up valuable desk space.
2. Numeric keypads
A numeric keypad is used to enter numbers only.
• Uses of numeric keypads
– Automatic teller machines (ATMs)
– Mobile phones to allow phone numbers
– Point of sale terminals (POS)
– Chip and PIN devices when paying by
– credit/debit cards
– Fast entry of numeric data into spreadsheet
• Advantages of numeric keypads
Faster than standard keyboards because many
are small devices they are very easy to carry
around.
• Disadvantages of numeric keypads
small keys which can make input more
difficult.
The order of the numbers on the keypad is not
intuitive.
3. Pointing devices
– Mouse
– Touch Pad
– Tracker ball
Mouse
The mouse is an example of a pointing device.
It included two buttons which different functions;
the left button is used to select items by double
clicking. The right button brings up drop-down
menus.
You can see optical mouse and the cordless or
wireless mouse
• Uses of a mouse
• opening, closing and minimizing software
• grouping, moving and deleting files
• image editing
• controlling the position of a pointer
Advantages of a mouse
• Faster method for choosing an option rather than using
a keyboard.
• Very quick way through applications
• Does not need a large desk area
• Disadvantages of a mouse
• more difficult for people with restricted
hand/wrist movement
• Easy to damage, and the older type of mouse
quickly becomes clogged up with dirt
• Difficult to use if no flat surface readily available
Touchpad
Touchpads are used as a pointing device in many
laptop computers. They also have buttons under
the touchpad which serve the same function as
the left and right buttons on a mouse.
Advantages of a touchpad
• Same as the mouse because the touchpad is
integrated into the laptop computer .
• A big advantage if there are no flat surfaces
available.
Disadvantages of a touchpad
• limited hand/wrist movement find the device
difficult to use.
• more difficult to control the pointer when
compared to a normal mouse.
• more difficult to use when doing certain
operations such as drag and drop
Trackerball
Trackerballs are similar to a mouse, except that a
ball is on the top or the side of the device.
The user controls the pointer on the screen by
rotating the ball.
Trackerballs do not physically move, there is no
need for a large amount of desk space.
Advantages of a trackerball
Does not need the same fine control as a
mouse.
Easier to use than a mouse if the operator has
problems with their wrist or hand.
They are more robust than a mouse.
Needs less desk space than a mouse or
keyboard.
Disadvantages of a trackerball
Not supplied with the computer as standard,
therefore more costly.
User may need training because it is not
standard equipment.
4. Remote control
A remote control is used for the operation of
other devices using infrared signals.
• Uses of a remote control
 To alter functions such as sound volume,
on/off, change channels, open the disc drawer,
and so on for Televisions, satellite systems,
DVD/Blu-ray players and Hi-Fi systems
 To control multimedia systems. Used in
industrial applications to remotely control
processes, stop and start machinery, etc.
• Advantages of a remote control
Can be operated from any reasonable
distance so it is a big advantage to be able to
select operations from a distance.
• Disadvantages of a remote control
Difficult to use if the operator has limited
hand/wrist movement.
It is easier to block the signal if, for example, the
walls in the building are very thick.
5. Joysticks and driving wheel
• Joystick
Joysticks have similar functions to a mouse
and a tracker ball. By gripping the stick, a pointer
on the screen can be controlled.
Uses of a joystick
Used in video/computer games.
Used in simulators (for example, flight
simulators)
• Advantages of a joystick
Easier than a keyboard to navigate the
screen.
• Disadvantages of a joystick
More difficult to control the on-screen
pointer than with other devices, such as a
mouse.
• Driving wheel
A driving (steering) wheel is an example of an
input device that is similar to a joystick. It
connects to a computer (or games machine),
usually through a USB port.
Uses of a driving wheel
Used in video/computer games
Used in simulators (for example, car-driving
simulators)
• Advantages of a driving wheel
Easier than a keyboard or joystick to control
steering movements.
It is more natural.
• Disadvantages of a driving wheel
It can be a rather expensive input device
compared to mouse or joystick.
Movements in the steering can be too
sensitive.
• Touch screens
User can choose an option by touching a
button/icon on the screen. The selection is
automatically made without the need for any
pointing device.
• Uses of touch screens
 Petrol stations
 Automatic teller machines (ATMs)
 Point of sale terminals such as in
restaurants. Information systems at airports,
 railway stations, tourist offices, etc.
 Mobile phones, tablets and satellite
navigation systems.
 Interactive white boards in education.
 Computer-based training (CBT)
• Advantages of touch screens
 Faster entry of options than using keyboard
or mouse.
 Very easy method for choosing options.
 User-friendly method
• Disadvantages of touch screens
 Limited number of input options available.
 The screen can get very dirty with constant
touching.
• Scanners
Scanners are used to enter information from hard copy
(for example, text documents, photographs) into a
computer. The most common type is the flatbed scanner
which is made up of a glass panel and lid.
Uses of scanners
• Scan in documents and convert into a format for use in
various software packages.
• Scan in old/valuable documents/books, thus protecting
the originals,
• Scan in photographs requiring conversion to computer
format for storage).
• Scan in barcodes at POS (Point of Sale) terminals
• Advantages of scanners
Images can be stored for editing at a later
date.
It is possible to recover damaged documents
and photographs by scanning
• Disadvantages of scanners
Quality can be limited depending on how
good a resolution the scanner.
They can be fairly slow at scanning, especially
if the colour scanning mode is chosen or if the
chosen scanning resolution is high
• Digital cameras
The images are stored on a memory card
(solid-state memory) and can be transferred to a
computer.
• How to transfer the images into computer.
 directly reading the memory card
 connecting the camera to the computer using
a USB port
 using wireless data transfer (Wi-Fi or
Bluetooth)
• Uses of digital cameras
 Taking photographs; they still take better
photgraphs than smartphones or tablets
 Used as a data-capture device
 Dentists use digital cameras to take photos
of a patient’s teeth to help them any problems
 The creation of virtual reality tours around
houses, historical buildings,… industrial plants,
and so on..
• Advantages of digital cameras
 Easier to produce better-quality
photographs than with a traditional camera.
 Easier and faster to upload photographs to a
computer
 No need to develop film and print out
photographs anymore
 Memory cards can store many thousands of
photographs
• Disadvantages of digital cameras
 Need to be computer literate to use the
cameras properly
 There is some artistry lost because clever
software now corrects errors in the
photographs
 Images often need to be compressed to
reduce the amount of memory used (a single
image can use more than 12 MB of memory,
for example)
Microphones
• Microphones are either built into the
computer or are external devices connected
through the USB port or using Bluetooth
connectivity.
• Uses of microphones
» To input speech/sounds to be used in
various applications, for example, in
presentations, sampling
» Input in voice-recognition software:
» Microphones can also be used as a sensor to
pick up sound (for example, in an intruder alarm
system).
» Used in video-conferencing or Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications
• Advantages of microphones
» Faster to read in text than to type it in using a
keyboard.
» It is possible to manipulate sound in real time
using special software rather than work on a recording
done at some earlier stage.
» If used in a voice activation system, it has the
advantage of improving safety
• Disadvantages of microphones
» Sound files can use up a lot of computer memory.
» Voice-recognition software is not as accurate as
typing in manually
LightPen
Sensors
• A sensor is a device that inputs data to a
computer; the data is a measurement of some
physical quantity that is continuously
changing.
• computers only understand digital data (1s
and 0s), the information from the sensors
needs to be converted; this is done using an
analogue to digital converter (ADC).
• Sensors are used in monitoring and control
applications
• Monitoring
When monitoring, the data sent to the
computer is often transferred directly to a
spreadsheet package (for example, taking
measurements in a scientific experiment,
measuring atmospheric pollution, etc.)
• Type of Sensor
Table 2.1
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Light
• Sound / acoustic
• Humidity
• pH
Advantages of Sensors
• readings taken when compared to human
operators.
• Readings are continuous
• Because it is a continuous process, any
necessary action (control system) or warning
(monitoring system)
• Systems can be automatic.
 Disadvantages of using sensors
• Faulty sensors can give spurious results – for
example, sensors on the rear bumper of a car
that monitors obstacles;
• if these become dirty, they may either not
identify an obstacle or give a continuous
alarm.
• Most sensors are analogue, therefore they
require conversion using an ADC.
Direct Data Entry (DDE) devices
• Card Readers (Contactless card readers)
Magnetic Stripe Readers
Chip and Pin Readers
• Radio frequency identification (RFID) readers
• Optical mark recognition/reader (OMR)
• Optical character recognition/reader (OCR)
• Bar Code Readers
• Quick response (QR) code scanners (readers)
• What is DDE?
Direct data entry (DDE) devices are used to input data
into a computer.
Countless card reader
• Magnetic stripe readers
These are used to read information on the magnetic
stripe found on, for example, the back of a credit or
debit card. The stripe contains useful information, such
as: account number.
• Contactless debit card readers
Contactless debit or credit cards allow customers to pay
for items worth up to a certain amount of money
without entering their PIN. They have a small chip that
emits radio waves embedded in them.
• The transaction to be processed.
1. Customers look out for the contactless
symbol on the payment terminal.
2. The shop assistant enters the amount for
payment.
3. The card reader informs the customer to
present their contactless card.
4. The customer holds their card close to the
front of the card reader.
5. The terminal display will indicate that the
card has been read successfully.
• Chip and PIN readers
They are similar to smart card readers but are
used at EFTPOS terminals. The device has a slot into
which the card is placed and the chip is read; the
PIN is entered using the keypad.

They are similar to the contactless system, except

for two points:
1 The customer has to key in their PIN to make a
transaction.
2 These cards do not make use of radio frequency
technology
• Radio frequency identification (RFID) readers
use radio waves to read and capture
information stored on a tag. The tag can be
read from a distance of several metres, which
is one of its advantages over the barcode
system.
• The RFID tag is made up of two components:
» a microchip that stores and processes
information
» an antenna which is used to receive and
transmit data/information.
• Uses of RFID
• Livestock tracking (it also identifies which farm
owns the animal).
• Retail (it is similar to barcodes
• Admission passes
• Libraries (books can be tracked in and out
automatically by readers at the library
entrance)
• Optical mark recognition/reader (OMR)
Optical mark recognition (OMR) is a device
which can read marks written in pen or pencil
on a form.
• Uses of OMR devices
» Used to read questionnaires, multiple-choice
examination papers, voting papers
• Optical character recognition/reader (OCR)
Itis the name given to a device that converts
the text on hard copy documents into an
electronic form.
• Uses of OCR »
• One of the most recent uses is the processing
of passports and identity cards.
• Converting hard copy documents into
electronic form which can be stored on a
computer.
• Used in automatic number plate recognition
(ANPR) systems in car parks.
• Historic newspapers and rare books so they
can be archived and used by researchers,
preventing damage to the originals
• Barcode readers Barcode readers are used to
read information in the form of a bar code.
• Quick response (QR) code scanners (readers)
Another type of barcode is the quick response
(QR) code. This is made up of a matrix of
filled-in dark squares on a light background.
• Description of QR codes
A QR code consists of a block of small
squares (light and dark) known as pixels.