SEMINAR REPORT

Entitled
“Touch Screen and Future Interfacing Devices”

Submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirement for the Degree of

: Presented & Submitted :

By
Ms. SHIVANI
B. TECH. IV (Electronics) 7th Semester

Under the able guidance of

Prof. M.C PATEL
Professor, ECED.

(NOVEMBER - 2010)
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology
Surat-395 007, Gujarat, INDIA.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this opportunity to bestow my acknowledgement to all the people
who have directly or indirectly availed me in guiding my seminar. I am grateful to my
college for giving me an opportunity to give seminar on this topic which will be the
building step for my bright future.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards Prof. M.C PATEL, Professor,
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, my seminar guide, for helping
me work on such an interesting topic and for providing me with his supportive guidance
and advice till the completion. I am grateful to him.
I also thank Dr. Suprava Patnaik, Professor and Head of Department,
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, for her co-operation and support.
I thank almighty God and My Parents for their constant support and blessings in all my
pursuits.
Abstract

In the 21st century , when technology is at par with what sometime back was called as
Science fiction , there is extensive acceptance of innovative , newer , smaller and user
friendly interfacing Devices. The most common of the recent 20th century are the Touch
Screens.

Touch screen is the Interfacing Device of the New Age. It is an Input as Well as Output
device. It is a display screen that has a touch-sensitive transparent panel covering the
screen. Instead of using a pointing device such as a mouse or light pen, you can use your
finger to point directly to objects on the screen.

As Touch screen’s are very intuitive , they are now commonly used in Smart Phones ,
LCD attachments , ATM machines , Camera , Industrial Machine Use , Hospital
Machines, Single-touch buttons are found in everything around the home, office, or
anywhere in between: cell phones, landline phones,remote controls, televisions,
computers and all of its peripherals, gaming systems, refrigerators, ovens, toasters, car
interior controls like radio and air conditioning, and so on and the best part is any LCD
screen can be converted into a Touch screen for convenience.

Touch screen and future interfacing devices would be discussed further.

INDEX

1. LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………….
……...1
2. CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………..2
3. CHAPTER 2: TOUCH SCREEN……….
……………………………………………..7
2.1 TYPES OF TOUCH SCREEN
2.2 FORMS OF TOUCH SCREEN
4 . CHAPTER 3: THE ADVANCEMENT- MULTI TOUCH ……………………… 14
3.1 HOW DOES MULTI TOUCH WORK?
3.2 WHY MULTITOUCH IS SIGNIFICANT?
5 . CHAPTER 4: USAGE AND COMPARISION OF TOUCH SCREEN…………....17
4.1 LIMITATION
4.2 PRONS AND CONS.
6. CHAPTER 5: INTEGRATION OF SOPHISTICATED INTERFACING DEVICES
AND EXAMPLES…………………………………………….………..……………….19
7 CONCLUSION…………………….…………………………………………....25
8 REFERENCES…...
…………………………………………………………………..26
9 LIST OF
ACRONYMS………………………………………………………………27
LIST OF FIGURES

1. FIG.1 -TOUCH SCREEN - OVERVIEW

2. FIG.2- TOUCH SCREEN ARCHITECHTURE
3. FIG.3 -RESISTIVE TOUCH TECHNOLOGY
4. FIG. 5 -SURFACE WAVE TOUCH TECHNOLOGY
5. FIG. 7 -CAPCITIVE TOUCH SCREEN TECHNOLOGY
6. FIG.8 -INFRARED TOUCH SCREEN FUNCTIONALITY
7. FIG.9- SINGLE TOUCH FUNTIONALITY
8. FIG.10- MULTI TOUCH GESTURE TOUCH SCREEN
9. FIG.11-MULTI TOUCH ALL POINT TECHNOLOGY
10. FIG.12-MICROSOFT TRANSPARENT INTERFACE
11. FIG.14 – INTERNET SEARCH – THE MOBILE VERSION
12. FIG.15 – SKIN BASED INTERFACE
13. FIG 16 – TOUCH FREE INTERFACE
14. FIG. 17 – IMAGINARY INTERFACE
15. FIG. 18 – BRAIN COMPUTING INTERFACE
 Chapter-1
Introduction

Figure 1 courtesy [2]

What is Touch screen?

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.

Figure 2 courtesy [1]

Why Touch Screens?

The touch screen has two main characteristics; it facilitates one to interact with what is
displayed straightforwardly on the screen, rather than indirectly with a mouse or touchpad
and it lets one perform the touch operations without necessitating any middle device.
Such touch screen displays can be connected to computers, laptops, PDAs, cell phones
etc. They also project an important function in the blueprint of digital.
Touch screen monitors are a way to both input information and receive information from
a single peripheral device (usually a monitor screen). Instead of using a keyboard or
mouse, you can easily input data directly into the touch screen where you are also able to
receive information.

Chapter-2
Touch Screen

2.1 Types of Touch Technology[6,9]

Touch-screen technology falls into categories: resistive, capacitive and surface wave.
Each technology has strengths suited for specific applications.

Resistive

A resistive touch screen display is composed of a standard glass sheet that is coated with
a thin conductive and a resistive metallic sheet. These two levels are kept separated by
spacers (objects positioned between two or more sheets of glass in order to retain a
uniform width between the glasses and avoid sealant deformation). A scratch-resistant
coating is positioned above the entire arrangement. An electrical current travels between
the two layers while the monitor is being used. When a user makes contact with the
display, the two layers touch each other contact in same location. The modification in the
electrical current is identified and the coordinates of the touch are computed by the
computer. An exceptional driver program then transforms the touch into a language
which the computer can comprehend.
Being quite reasonably priced they only offer about 75 percent clarity. They can also be
easily damaged by objects that are sharp. Resistive touch screen monitors are the most
popular types of touch screen monitors used today. They are usually not effected by dust
or liquids which make them very reliable.

Figure 3 courtesy [6]

Surface wave. [ 8 ]

Surface wave touch screen monitors use ultrasonic waves to process inputs from the
screen. A surface wave touch screen display is composed of two transducers (acting as
receivers and senders) positioned along the X and Y axis of the display’s glass layer.
Reflectors are placed on the glass layer which reflects an electrical signal propelled from
one transducer to the other. The receiving transducer is capable to identify if the signal
has been altered by a touch at any moment, and can trace it consequently. Ultrasonic
waves flow over the touch screen, when a person touches the pad at a specific location,
the wave is absorbed and immediately processed by the computer. The wave arrangement
has no metallic coatings on the display, permitting for 100 percent light throughput and
ideal picture clearness. This formulates the surface wave touch screen display as finest for
exhibiting detailed pictures.
While not as common as resistive touch panels, they are used in certain applications. Dust
and water can contaminate a surface wave touch screen so it is important to keep the
screens properly maintained.

Figure 4 courtesy [8]

Capacitive [1,5]

A capacitive touch screen monitor is composed of a indium tin oxide sheet that stores
electrical charge and is positioned on the glass layer of the display. Indium tin oxide
provides a continuous current across the display screen. It is important to note that only
specific objects can only be used on capacitive touch screen displays. You cannot use a
stylus or a pencil for instance; usually you will need a bare finger. When a user makes
contact with the display, a small quantity of the charge is transmitted to the user’s finger;
hence the quantity of charge on the capacitive sheet reduces. This reduction is calculated
in circuits situated at every corner of the display. The processor computes, from the
comparative variation in charge at every corner, precisely where the touch took place and
then communicates that information to the touch screen driver program.
One advantage that the capacitive touch screen display has over the resistive touch screen
display is that it transmits almost 90 percent of the light from the display, whereas the
resistive touch screen only transmits about 75 percent. This gives the capacitive touch
screen display a much clearer picture than the resistive touch screen. Capacitive touch
screens have high clarity and are not affected by dust or liquids.

Figure 5 courtesy [5]

Infrared Touch Screen Monitors.[5, 4]

Figure 6 courtesy [5]

There are two types of Infrared touch screen monitor screens, the first reacts to infrared or
thermal waves (heat), unfortunately this technology is slow and does not work well with
cold hands, objects or environment. The second type of Infrared touch screen monitors
use vertical and horizontal infrared sensors around the perimeter of the touch screen.
Creating a grid, the touch screen is able to pinpoint the exact location of where the screen
has been touched and send that information to the computer for processing. Infrared touch
screen monitors are very durable and are used for industrial and military applications.
2.2 Forms of Touch Screen [3 , 6 , 7 ]

Touchscreens come in three main forms: Single-Touch, Multi-Touch Gesture, and the
epitome of it all, Multi-Touch All-Point.

Single-Touch Touchscreen
Single-touch touchscreens like the shown in Figure 1 remove the need for the traditional
mechanical button by integrating that user control interface directly onto the screen itself.

Figure 7 courtesy [6]

Single-touch has brought two main advantages to the user interface: 1) Device design
space can be optimized, especially in smaller devices, by locating both a screen and
buttons in the same area, and 2) devices can now have an unlimited amount of
“buttons” since a button could be tied to any application within the device’s operating
system. This functionality, predominantly based on resistive touchscreen technology,
became quite popular across consumer electronics, airport kiosks, grocery store POS
terminals, and automobile GPS systems.
Multi-Touch Gesture Touchscreens

Multi touch screens approves and reads two simultaneous touches and comprehends
them considering a single signal.

Figure 8 courtesy [3]

Single-touch touchscreens based on resistive touchscreen technology, while amazing and

revolutionary in their own right, had two significant drawbacks: 1) resistive technology
relied on the, albeit small, physical movement of the touchscreen, something that proved
to cause poor performance after normal wear and tear, and 2) it was just single-touch, i.e.
only one finger can do one thing at one time on a particular screen.
This is where Apple made its monumental contribution to the user interface revolution,
with its projected-capacitive based touchscreen. Even in small devices like smart phones,
the functionality inherent within the applications and operating system screams for
multiple fingers for optimal usability. Already users are wondering how they ever lived
without one and two fingers gestures, like manipulating picture sizes .
Multi-Touch All-Point Touchscreens

Figure 9 Courtesy [ 5 ]

As with Single-Touch touchscreens, Multi-Touch Gesture touchscreens too have a

limitation: the number of points the technology can identify on the screen. Why limit
device makers to two points at a time? Users have ten fingers across two hands and when
users interact with each other the number of fingers and hands grow even more. That is
the concept of Multi-Touch All-Point, the ability to handle more and not just two fingers.
 Chapter-3
THE ADVANCEMENT ; MULTITOUCH ALL POINT

3.1 MULTITOUCH ALL POINT – WORKING

MULTI TOUCH [8 , 5 , 9]

While touch sensing is commonplace for single points of contact, multi-touch sensing
enables a user to interact with a system with more than one finger at a time, as in
chording and bi-manual operations. Such sensing devices are inherently also able to
accommodate multiple users simultaneously, which is especially useful for larger
interaction scenarios such as interactive walls and tabletops.
Multi-touch has been implemented in several different ways, depending on the size and
type of interface. Both touchtables and touch walls project an image through acrylic or
glass, and then back-light the image with LEDs. When a finger or an object touches the
surface, causing the light to scatter, the reflection is caught with sensors or cameras that
send the data to software which dictates response to the touch, depending on the type of
reflection measured. Touch surfaces can also be made pressure-sensitive by the addition
of a pressure-sensitive coating that flexes differently depending on how firmly it is
pressed, altering the reflection.[2] Handheld technologies use a panel that carries an
electrical charge. When a finger touches the screen, the touch disrupts the panel's
electrical field. The disruption is registered and sent to the software, which then initiates a
response to the gesture

How does it work?[1]

The idea behind multi-touch technology is to create a more direct interaction with data
and applications by making the interface “invisible,” resulting in what some describe as a
blurring of the line between the physical and virtual worlds. Users can manipulate photos
or documents on a screen, for instance, by sliding them and rotating them (or even turning
them over) as if they were physical objects, but with the added functionality of digital
tools to search, zoom in and out, change colors or text, or copy and paste. Multi-touch
interfaces are designed to recognize intuitive gestures and respond in ways that users will
see as appropriate or “natural.” Swiping a finger across the display will move a page or
image off the screen as the next one slides in to take its place. A digital keyboard or
number pad can be called up to let users type on the interface. Microsoft Surface also
includes the ability to recognize physical objects. When a Wi-Fi cell phone is placed on
the surface, for example, the technology can access the photos or ringtones on that phone,
display or play them, and let users share them by dragging them to create copies on other
portable devices.
Why is it significant?[2,7]

Multi-touch technology has the potential to replace traditional input devices, such as the
keyboard, the mouse, and even the stylus, with an “invisible” interface that enables new
ways of interacting with information. Being able to “thumb through” a stack of digital
papers provides a compelling experience that resembles interaction with physical objects,
while at the same time providing users with the functionality of digital tools, such as
searching or changing text. As applications become more sophisticated and processing
capabilities increase, the means of interacting with and manipulating data need also to be
refined, if not reconceived, to allow users to take full advantage of new possibilities.
Maps, for example, are now able to incorporate vast amounts of satellite imagery, GIS
data, weather information, real-time traffic conditions, and other elements. Allowing
users of advanced mapping tools to manipulate the applications with their hands results in
a more immediate, richer experience and greater understanding. In addition, large-format
interfaces allow multiple users to interact with the same device simultaneously.
 Chapter-4
LIMITATION AND COMPARISION OF TOUCH

4.1 Limitations[4]

Touchscreens have limitations that - to our opinion - prevent them from becoming the
"universal" solution for user interface problems.

Size

Fingers have a certain size. So, screen elements have to have a minimum size, to ensure
that a touchscreen can be operated with few errors. Even with a stylus, which makes
possible to use smaller screen elements, there are limiting factors.

Sequential Input

Input on a touchscreen is inherently sequential: One finger is used for clicking. This
slows input down compared to keyboard input where several fingers can be used virtually
in parallel.

Strain

Keying in many numbers or letters by pointing with the finger is also very straining and
tiring. Therefore, touchscreens make no sense in workplaces, where much text or number
input is required.

Feedback

On touchscreens, there is no analogue to mouse-move events. Mouse users can move the
mouse pointer over screen elements, get feedback about the selected element (e.g. by
highlighting), and may confirm the selection by clicking the mouse button.
Touchscreen users directly point on a screen element. If they are lucky, they can
withdraw their finger if they touched the wrong screen element. On other touchscreens,
the touch immediately initiates an action - there is no opportunity to cancel the action.

Drag Operations

Dragging is generally not well suited to finger-operated touchscreens; here pointing is the
preferred interaction. However, this is different for stylus-operated touchscreens. Here
gestures and handwriting offer promising possibilities for making interaction with
computers easier and more intuitive. But here, too is the limitation of strictly sequential
input.
4.2 Prons And Cons of Touch Screen
The following overview lists advantages and disadvantages of touchscreens .

Touchscreen Pros

l Direct: Direct pointing to objects, direct relationship between hand and cursor
movement (distance, speed and direction),because the hand is moving on the same
surface that the cursor is moving, manipulating objects on the screen is similar to
manipulating them in the manual world
l Fast (but less precise without pen)
l Finger is usable, any pen is usable (usually no cable needed).
l No keyboard necessary for applications that need menu selections only -> saves desk
space
l Suited to: novices, applications for information retrieval, high-use environments.

Touchscreen Cons

l Low precision (finger): Imprecise positioning, possible problems with eye parallaxis
(with pen, too), the finger may be too
large for accurate pointing with small objects -> a pen is more accurate.
l Hand movements (if used with keyboard): Requires that users move the hand away from
the keyboard; a stylus requires
also hand movements to take up the pen.
l Fatigue: Straining the arm muscles under heavy use (especially if the screen is placed
vertically).
l Sitting/Standing position: The user has to sit/stand close to the screen.
l Dirt: The screen gets dirty from finger prints.
l Screen coverage: The user's hand, the finger or the pen may obscure parts of the screen.
l Activation: Usually direct activation of the selected function, when the screen is
touched; there is no special "activation"
button as with a light pen or a mouse.

Summary of Touchscreen Characteristics

l Speed: high
l Accuracy: low (finger), high (pen)
l Speed control: yes
l Continuous movement: yes
l Directness: direction, distance, speed
l Fatigue: high
l Footprint: no
 Chapter-5

INTEGRATION OF SOPHISTICATED INTERFACING

DEVICES AND EXAMPLES

While gestural interaction is almost certainly the way people will connect with computer
technology in the immediate future, the integration between the physical and the virtual
will not stop there. Below justifies ways in which we can incorporate user interfaces even
more closely into our day-to-day lives, as part of a user’s clothing.

5.1 EXAMPLES

MICROSOFT’S TRANSPARENT INTERFACE[7]

Figure 10 courtesy [7]

With Microsoft’s new research idea of a transparent interface, the technical world is
moving away from the input based interfaces. The new interface works on the principle of
touch-free hand gestures, eye tracking and even voice commands.
INTERNET SEARCH-THE MOBILE VERSION[7]

Figure 11 courtesy [7]

A touch screen, scanner, built-in-camera, WiFi, Google search, Google image and
mobile! This is a short list of the integrated components in this futuristic device. All that
you need to do is to carry one of these in your pocket; point at an object- it will tell you
all details. Read a Greek text in English, know who is where and know the content of fat
in the street food.
SKIN BASED INTERFACE[7]

Figure 12 courtesy [7]

No one needs a touch screen anymore; instead, use your skin! The micro sized projector
and acoustic detector developed by scientists from Carnegie Mellon University and
Microsoft’s research lab assistance, will now let you use the skin on your palm and arm
as a touch screen! What is better is that, the device works perfectly even while you are
moving and it can even integrate WiFi and Bluetooth.
4. TOUCH FREE INTERFACE[7]

Figure 13 courtesy [7]

When the world is awing the touch screen and its easy user interface, researches at Tokyo
University are busy finding ‘the next’ after touch screens. And they have it as the in-air
gesture input interface device. The gestures that you make in the air are converted into
commands to operate the device with the help of a high resolution and high-frame-rate 3D
camera installed in the device.
IMAGINARY INTERFACE[7]

Figure 14 courtesy [7]

If you have imagination; you can do everything you want to. This imaginary interface
was the missing link between man and technology; and yet now it is here-in its best form.
Your imagination will help you navigate through the device and input data without a
mouse, keyboard or even a gesture. Start imagining and the device made of a two inch
camera and LED rings will do the rest.
BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE[7]

Figure 15 courtesy [7]

The brain computer interface is a boon to technology. It can help thousands of

incapacitated patients in letting the world know what he or she wants. The patient
wearing a cap of EEG sensors can type a letter when concentrating on the same. Though
the speed, efficiency and cost factors of the device are not that impressive, it sure is a leap
in the run towards a better tomorrow for all.
CONCLUSION

Touch screens have inevitably become the major part our life as the interface between
human world and the digital world. The world is moving towards improvising digital
technology to match the comprehension level of the human mind. Human gestures and
even artificial intelligence is being combined to form future interfacing devices which
makes the digital world more easy and fascinating to look at. This report dealt with the
innovative touch screen input – output interface and its uses. Also , many other
inprocess innovations related to future interfacing devices were described.

The research in this field is touching new benchmarks every now and then and the world
of technology is keeping its fast pace.
REFERENCES

1. http://www.fileguru.com/apps/ieee_paper_on_touch_screen_technology
2. http://www.techreview.com/
3. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question716.htm
4. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltouch.htm
5. http://www.interfacedevices.com/
6. http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/2009/06/comparison-of-consumer-
brain-computer-interface-devices/
7. http://hardgeek.org/9-user-interface-designs-that-may-replace-the-touch-screens-in-
future
8. http://askbobrankin.com/future_input_devices.html
9. http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/tsdesigngl/ProsCons.htm
LIST OF ACRONYMS

LED : Light Emitting Diode.

Wi-Fi : Wireless Fidility.

GIS-Data : Geographic Information System Data.

EEG Sensors : Electroencephalogram sensors.

PDA : Personal Digital Assistant.

3 D : Three – Dimensional.

LCD : Liquid Crystal Display

ATM: Automated Teller Machine