Superior Group of Technology

ASSIGNMENT

NAME: JAWAD SANDHU

ROLL NO: BSEF-1707

SEMESTER: 6TH

TEACHER: NASIR NOOR SAAB

SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION TO MECHATRONICS

ASSIGNMENT NO: 1

DATE: 05-06-2020
What is a touch sensor?

A touch sensor is an electronic sensor used in detecting and recording

physical touch. Also known as tactile sensors, it’s a small, simple, low-cost
sensor made to replace old mechanical switches we seen in the past.

How does touch sensor work?

Working principle

A touch sensor works like a switch, where when there’s contact, touch, or
pressure on the surface of a touch sensor, it opens up an electrical circuit
and allows currents to flow through it.
 What is touch sensor used for? Key Applications

As mentioned in my introduction, a touch sensor is used for a wide array of

applications, with those being:

 Touch sensor in robotics; a touch sensor is commonly used in robots,

enabling basic movement and the ability to detect touch in its surroundings
(E.g. When the robot runs into something, the touch sensor can have it to
stop moving)
 Smartphones, automotive, industrial applications
 Touch sensor faucet in kitchens; allowing for control of running water
without having to physically turn the knob
 Most other applications that require pressure/distance measurement

Types of touch sensor:

The above explanations of how a touch sensor work and its applications
apply to a generic sensor, where there are still different type of touch
sensor that works uniquely and is more applicable for certain applications.
Hence, I’ll be introducing the two main touch sensor types with its working
principle/usages!
*Note: The following types of touch sensors can be referenced as touch
technology too; used on touch screens to enable your device to interpret
and deliver your commands.
 Capacitive touch sensor:

Commonly associated with Micro Chip at42qt1010, a Capacitive touch

sensor measures touch based on electrical disturbance from a change in
capacitance. It consists of an electrode film on top of the glass panel that’s
conductively coated with a printed circuit pattern around the outer viewing
area.

How capacitive touch sensor work:

1. The user applies touch on the glass panel
2. The printed circuit panel around the outer viewing area of the glass
panel creates an electrical charge across the surface
3. It results in a decrease in capacitance and allows the system to
determine the touch point
 Multiple touch points can be detected as well, allowing for touch
pinch and spread

Capacitive touch sensor applications:

 Portable devices such as smart phones and tablets (iPhones, iPad,
etc.)
 Home applications such as touch lamps
 Automotives
 Industrial
 Advantages of a capacitive touch sensor:
 Doesn’t require pressure to be applied since
it’s built on the glass itself, hence making force insignificant to sensing
requirements
 Support for multi-touch
 High responsiveness

Disadvantages of a capacitive touch sensor:

 Vulnerable to abrasion
 Reliability concerns when used in harsh environments
 Doesn’t work with gloves or stylus

Resistive touch sensor:

Resistive touch sensor measures touch through responding to the pressure
applied to their surface. It consists of two conductive layers and a non-
conductive separator. Unlike the capacitive touch sensors, it’s not multi-
touch compatible.

How resistive touch sensor work:

1. The user applies pressure against the surface
2. The outside conductive layer is then pressed against the inner layer,
resulting in voltage changes
3. The voltage changes are then compared to the starting voltage,
allowing for the point at which the touch took place to be calculated

Resistive touch sensor applications:

 Musical instruments, touchpads, etc.
 Older music players, game consoles, etc.
 Office equipment

Advantages of a resistive touch sensor:

  Cost-effective and durable to be used in harsh environments
 Able to be used with stylus and gloves
 Less complex
 Low power consumption

Disadvantages of a resistive touch sensor:

 The inability for multi-touch technology unlike the capacitive touch
sensors
 Dependent on pressure, require more pressure to be applied for
sensing to take place

Capacitive vs Resistive touch sensor:

Based on what I’ve covered above, here’s the summarised comparative
table between the two main types of touch sensors; Capacitive and
Resistive touch sensor!

Classification of a Touch Sensor: -

The touch sensors are classified into two categories.

 Capacitive touch sensor

 Resistive touch sensor.

Capacitive Touch Sensor:

In capacitive touch sensors, the electrode represents one of the plates of the capacitor.
The sensor electrode is connected to a measurement circuit and the capacitance is
measured periodically. The output capacitance will increase if a conductive object
touches or approaches the sensor electrode.
Since these sensors can be produced very easily at a very large scale can be made at very
less cost and are very attractive in design. These are widely used in iPods, mobile
phones, home appliances,automotive, and many other industrial applications. They are
used in applications such as measuring pressure, acceleration, distance, etc.
Working of Capacitive touch sensor:

If the parallel plates have a larger area and the thickness of the insulator is very less then
there would be the greater value of the touch capacitance. Therefore the difference of the
capacitance value when the plate is touched and the plate is untouched will be greater.

So, by controlling the size of the parallel plate and the thickness of the insulator we can
control the sensitivity of the capacitive touch sensor. The Capacitive touch sensor,
however, has few drawbacks such as there could be a false trigger since all it needs is to
be in a contact with a conducting material and does not require a pressure to operate.

Resistive Touch Sensor:

A resistive touch sensor consists of two conductive layers separated by small spacer
dots. The bottom layer is made up of either glass or film and the top layer is made up of
film. When any probe like a finger, stylus pen, pen, etc. It is used to apply pressure on
the top film of the sensor, it activates the sensor.Resistive Touch Sensor requires an
amount force to operate, so they are used in applications such as Foot pronation
monitoring, musical instrument, keypads (mostly used in old mobile phones), resistive
touch-pads, and many other applications.
Working of Resistive Touch Sensor:

The above circuit shows the basic working of the touch sensor which consists of the
touch electrode or the surface.

The resistive touch sensor operates when an object with some resistivity such as our
finger touches the surface. Touch of the object with a little resistance forms a close
circuit which allows a small amount of current to flow.

In the above circuit the touch causes a very little current to flow.

 The transistor amplifies the voltage to some significant value.

 Resistance is used to protect the transistor from the high current. It is useful In case
if there is a fault occurs in the electrodes.
 Resistance is used to keep the base of the transistor grounded. There is no current
when there is an open circuit or if there is no pressure applied.

Application of a Touch Sensor: -

Following are the applications of a Touch sensor:

 Used in automation engineering to define operating states in process engineering
plants, production systems and automating plants
 Used in windows, and the alarm is activated when the window opens
 Used in machine vibration monitoring to calculate the difference in distance
between a shaft and its support bearing