Introduction

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. However, if the object sensed is active, as with a light pen.

History

Apple was the first with a touch screen phone in 1983. Jason Ford of Elo TouchSystems, the company whose founder invented touch screen technology, for providing the touch technology. In 1971, the first "touch sensor" was developed by Doctor Sam Hurst (founder of  Elographics) while he was an instructor at the University of Kentucky. This sensor called the "Elograph" was patented by The University of Kentucky Research Foundation. The "Elograph" was not transparent like modern touch screens, however, it was a significant milestone in touch screen technology. In 1974, the first true touch screen incorporating a transparent surface came on the scene developed by Sam Hurst and Elographics. In 1977, Elographics developed and patented five-wire resistive technology, the most popular touch screen technology in use today. On February 24, 1994, the company officially changed its name from Elographics to Elo TouchSystems. TouchSystems, the global leader in touch technology, develops, manufactures and markets a complete line of touch screen and touch monitor products. Elo offers the largest selection of touchscreen technologies and LCD touch monitors and carefully designs each product for the demanding requirements of diverse applications, such as industrial, medical, POS, kiosks, retail, hospitality, transportation, office automation, and gaming.  Elo founders invented the touchscreen nearly 40 years ago. Since then, customers have used Elo touchscreens with one common, powerful result—advanced computer technology simplified for all users.

Dr. Sameul Hurst

The father of the touch screen technology is Dr. Samuel Hurst. In 1971, while he was working as an instructor at the University of Kentucky Research Foundation, he had to read a great volume of information during the graduation exams and it took whole two months so that two students could graduate. In an effort to save some time he invented the first touch sensor that he called „Еlo graph” (electronic graphics), which allowed him to enter data faster. Alongside with this invention the company „Elo graphics” was born (known today as Elo Touch Systems ). This device was not transparent as today’s sensors are, but this achievement was a big move towards the modern touch screen. Three years later, in 1974, Dr. Hurst designed the first transparent touch screen, and in 1977 Elographics invented and patented the 5-wire resistive technical method, which is still the most widely used one today.

Types of Touch Technologies

There are a variety of touchscreen technologies:-

1. Resistive

A resistive touchscreen panel is composed of several layers, the most important of which

are two thin, metallic, 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.

2. 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 touch screen panels can be

damaged by outside elements. Contaminants on the surface can also interfere with the

functionality of the touchscreen.

3. Capacitive

A capacitive touchscreen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a

transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO). As the human body is also

a conductor, touching the surface of the screen results in a distortion of the

body's electrostatic 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.

4. Infrared

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. 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.

Comparision between Touch Technologies

The following information is supplied after selling touch screen technology.

Technology4-Wire

ResistiveSurface Acoustic

Wave5-Wire

ResistiveInfrared Capacitive

Durability 3 year 5 Year 5 Year 5 Year 2 Year

Stability High Higher High High Ok

Transparency Bad Good Bad Good Ok

InstallationBuilt-in/Onwall

Built-in/OnwallBuilt-in/Onwall

Onwall Built-in

Touch Anything Finger/Pen Anything Finger/Pen Conductive

Intense light-resistant

Good Good Good Bad Bad

Response time <10ms 10ms <15ms <20ms <15ms

Following Speed Good Low Good Good Good

Excursion No Small Big Big Big

Monitor option CRT or LCD CRT or LCD CRT or LCDCRT or LCD

CRT or LCD or LED

Waterproof Good Ok Good Ok Good

Manufacturers

Many companies in recent years have expanded into multitouch, with systems designed

for everything from the casual user to multinational organizations.

In the wake of the iPhone, several mobile phone manufacturers have begun to replace

traditional push-button interfaces with multitouch interfaces on their handheld devices as

well. So far, such innovations are mostly restricted to the higher-end smartphones used

for web browsing and computing in addition to phone-based functions.

A few companies are focusing on large-scale surface computing rather than personal

electronics, either large multi touch tables or wall surfaces. These systems carry a hefty

price tag and are generally used by government organizations, museums, and companies

as a means of information or exhibit display.

Apple Inc. lists "Multi-Touch" on their page of trademarks however, this was only added

some time after October 2007, and Apple was awarded a patent covering multitouch on

20 January 2009. "Multi-Touch" is now considered a Genericized trademark.

Now a days the big companies like Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola,

Blackberry are making touch screen technology. Some of the local companies are also

taking part for making the touch technology but these are not effective in the

environment.

Advantages

Touch screens have several advantages over other pointing devices:

  A touch screen is easy to use ( as the user simply touches what he or she sees on the display).

  Save space as no buttons are required.

Touching a visual display of choices requires little thinking and is a form of direct manipulation that is easy to learn.

 Touch screens are the fastest pointing devices.

 Touch screens have easier hand eye coordination than buttons.

 Touch screens are durable in public access and in high volume usage.

Disadvantages

Screen has to be really big not to miss things when pressing them with your finger:

Big screen leads to low battery life.

Touch screen means screen can’t be read too well in direct sunlight as it applies an

additional not 100% transparent. Touch screen devices usually has no additional

keys (see the iPhone) and this means when an app crashes, without crashing the

OS, you can’t get to the main menu as the whole screen becomes unresponsive.

Touchscreens usually have low precision, virtual QWERTY keypads being one of

the most annoying things.

Most user interfaces are not optimized for thumb operation, so a stylus in

necessary, and this means using two hands

Screens get very dirty.

These devices require massive computing power which leads to slow devices.

Construction of Touch Screens

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 layer 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.

Why Touch Screens?

Touch screens are very useful in environments where other human interface devices are unavailable or not practical. For instance, DVD rental kiosks use touch screens with an easy-to-understand, intuitive interface requiring no training to operate.

New Developments

Mobile phone technology is developing all the time and the latest software on touch screen phones does allow you to play some games that incorporate motion sensor technology. By tilting, turning and jogging the phone, you can feel you are much more part of the game. This sort of application will expand very quickly now, with new games available in the next two years. We are also likely to see more mobile phone companies bringing out their own touch screen phones, with even better and more impressive features than are standard on the currently available ones. Competition for the touch screen market in mobiles is likely to carry on being very fierce, and that should also force prices down. Recent news from the Mobile World Congress in February 2009 also unveils the worlds first touch screen mobile phone that is powered by solar cells. The front of the phone is an elegant touch screen, the back is a solar panel. It also has several other eco-friendly aspects, including being made from plastic recycled from unwanted water bottles.

Future of Touch Screen Mobiles

If we're among those who think that touchscreen phones are only available on high-end devices, think again! Gartner Inc estimates that the global market for touchscreen mobiles will cross 362.7 million units in 2010, a 96.8 per cent increase from the 184.3 million units sold in 2009. And by 2013, touchscreen mobiles will account for 58 per cent of all global mobile sales, and more than 80 per cent in high-end markets, such as North America and Western Europe.  "Touchscreens are no longer the preserve of high-end devices and are now being included in many midrange phones as more companies have been driving the consumer market for affordable touchscreen phones," said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst, Gartner. "As phone capabilities increase, consumers are becoming much more aware of the benefits of touch interfaces, and vendors are responding." With this technology catching on with mobile phone vendors, many are now starting to deliver user interfaces (UIs) that are made specifically for touch input. Ms Cozza said that the craze for touchscreen devices skyrocketed with the success of the iPhone. This technology takes user-friendliness to new levels. Gartner predicts that both capacitive and resistive touchscreens will coexist for the moment in mobile phones. The main interface would be capacitive touch but resistive touchscreens will hold their own because they're cheap.  From a sales viewpoint, Asia/Pacific leads the pack for touchscreen mobile devices. In 2010, touchscreen mobile phone sales in Asia/Pacific are expected to cross 129.1 million units, accounting for 35.6 per cent of the global market. Western Europe and North America, on the other hand, are expected to account for 26.8 per cent and 24.4 per cent of worldwide touchscreen mobile phone sales respectively.

 

Report on Touch Technologies in Mobiles

Submitted to: Submitted by:Mr. Gursharan Singh Tatla Names: Ankur BhallaFaculty PCTE Harshdeep Singh Simranjeet Singh

Puneet Vinayak Class: BCA-2D Contents

Sr.no Topic Page no.

1. Introduction 1

2. History 2

3. Dr. Samuel Hurst 3

4. Construction of touch screen 4

5. Types of Touch Technologies 5-6

6. Comparision between Touch Technologies 7

7. Manufactures 8

8. New Developments 9

9. Advantages 10

10. Disadvantages 11

11. Future 12