Input and Output Devices – a hardware that are use for both providing information to the computer and

receiving information from it.

LECTURE 6: INPUT DEVICES

Input Devices – simply allows the user to communicate top computer.
Examples: mouse, keyboard, scanner, web cam, digital cam, joystick, sensor, graphics
tablet

Types:
A. Keyboard-Entry Devices

a.1. Keyboard
 a keypad device with buttons or keys that a user presses to enter data characters and
commands into a computer.
 emerged from the combination of typewriter and computer-terminal technology.
 the most common English-language key pattern for typewriters and keyboards is called
QWERTY.

Parts:
o Standard typewriter keys (letters, numbers, punctuation keys, space bar, shift, tab,
tab and caps lock keys )
o Cursor movement keys (arrow keys, PgUP, PgDn, Home, End)
o Function keys (F1 to F12 for desktop microcomputers, F1 to F10 for portables)

Function Keys–generate short, fixed sequences of character codes that instruct

application programs running on the computer to perform certain actions.

o Special-purpose keys (backspace, Delete/Del, Insert/Ins, Esc, Ctrl, Alt)

Could be:
o Soft-touch. Presses down easily and makes almost no sound.
o Regular-touch. Emits audible clicks when you press down on them.

Christopher Sholes
 late 1860s, an American inventor invented the modern form of the typewriter.
 created the QWERTY keyboard layout by separating commonly used letters so that typists
would type slower and not jam their mechanical typewriters.

Dvorak Keyboard
 In the 1930s, American educators August Dvorak and William Dealy designed this key set so
that the letters that make up most words in the English language are in the middle row of
keys and are easily reachable by a typist’s fingers. Common letter combinations are also
positioned so that they can be typed quickly.
 An alternative keyboard design not yet widely used but broadly acknowledged for its speed
advantages.
 These keyboards have separated banks of keys and are less likely to cause carpal tunnel
syndrome, a disorder often caused by excessive typing on less ergonomic keyboards.

Modern Keyboards
 connect with the computer CPU by cable or by infrared transmitter.
  The driver translates numeric code into a specialized command that the computer’s CPU and
application programs understand. The term character is generally reserved for letters,
numbers, and punctuation, but may also include control codes, graphical symbols,
mathematical symbols, and graphic images.
Wireless Keyboard
 no chord hassles
 have Bluetooth

a.2. Terminals –consists of a keyboard, video display screen and a communication line to a
mainframe computer.

Types:
o Dumb. Can be used only to input data to and receive information from a computer
system. Examples are those used by airline clerks in airport ticket and check-in
computers.
o Smart.Can do input and output and has some limited processing capability. It may be
able to edit or verify data before it is sent to a larger computer. Examples are Automatic
Teller Machine (ATM), Electronic Ticket Machine (ETM), Point-of-Sales (POS), Minitel (in
France, which connects citizens to an electronic phone directory and other information
services).
o Intelligent. A full-fledge microcomputer with a communication link. It is a stand-alone
device with its own input, output, processing and storage capacity, and its own software.
Example is the Executive Workstation.

B. Direct-Entry Devices
a.1.
b.1. Pointing Devices
 Mouse
 A pointing device that allows you to control an on-screen cursor.
A mouse is a relative pointing device because there are no defined limits to the
mouse's movement and because its placement on a surface does not map
directly to a specific screen location. To select items or choose commands on the
screen, the user presses one of the mouse's buttons, producing a “mouse click.”

Basic Features of a mouse are:

o a casing with a flat bottom, designed to be gripped by one hand;
o one or more buttons on the top;
o a multidirectional detection device (usually a ball) on the bottom; and
o a cable connecting the mouse to the computer.

Bus Mouse– a mouse that attaches to the computer's bus through a special card or port
rather than through a serial port.

Mechanical Mouse–a type of mouse in which the motion of a ball on the bottom of the
mouse is translated into directional signals.
 Optical Mouse–a type of mouse that uses a pair of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a
special reflective grid pad to detect motion.

Optomechanical Mouse–a type of mouse in which motion is translated into directional

signals through a combination of optical and mechanical means. The optical
portionincludes pairs of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and matching sensors; the
mechanical portion consists of rotating wheels with cutout slits.

Serial Mouse–a mouse that attaches to the computer through a standard serial port of
the type that can also be used for other purposes, such as attaching a modem.
If a serial port is unavailable or another serial port cannot be added to the system,
however, a bus mouse, which uses its own computer card, might be used instead.

 Trackball
 a popular pointing device that can be roughly described as a mouse on its back.
 consists of a ball resting on two rollers at right angles to each other, which
translate the ball's motion into vertical and horizontal movement on the screen.
 has one or more buttons to initiate other actions.
 The only functional difference between a mechanical mouse and a trackball is in
how the ball is moved:

Mouse
» the ball is rolled by moving the
entire unit over a desktop or
other surface
» better for bold moves, such as
those used in navigating within a
graphical user interface
Trackball
» the housing is stationary, and the
ball is rolled with the hand
» useful for fine work because the
user can exert fingertip control
» it takes little desktop surface

 Joystick
 An input device that has a single vertical stick that moves the on-screen cursor in
the direction in which the stick is pushed and a base with buttons for control.
 Control buttons are located on the base and sometimes on top of the stem. The
stem can be moved omni directionally to control the movement of an object on
the screen.
 The buttons activate various software features, generally producing on-screen
events.

In industrial control applications, the joystick can also be an absolute pointing device,
with each position of the stem mapped to a specific on-screen location.

 Touch Screen
 A video display screen that picks up input from the user through the touch of a
finger.
 Infrared touch screens are often used in “dirty” environments where
contaminants could interfere with the operation of other types of touch screens.

Basic Components:
o Touch screen sensor panel– that sits above the display and which generates
appropriate voltages according to where, precisely it is touched.
 o Touch screen controller– that process the signal received from the sensor and
translates these into touch event data, which is passed to the PC’s processor,
usually via a serial or USB interface.
o Software driver– provide an interface to the PC’s operating system and which
translates the touch event data into mouse events, essentially enabling the
sensor panel to “emulate” a mouse.

Touch Screen Technology

RESISTIVE INFRARED SURFACE CAPACITIVE

ACOUSTIC WAVE
TOUCH RESOLUTION High High Average High
CLARITY Average Good Good Good
OPERATION Finger or stylus Finger or stylus Finger or soft Finger only
tipped stylus
DURABILITY Can be damaged Highly durable Susceptible to dirt Highly durable
by sharp objects and moisture

o Resistive touch screen respond to the pressure of a finger, a fingernail or a

stylus. They typically comprise a glass or a acrylic base that is coated with
electrically conducive and resistive layers.
o Infrared - touch screen are base on light –beam interruption technology. Instead
of placing a layer on the display surface, a frame surrounds it.
o Surface Acoustics Waves - technology is the one most advanced touch screen
types.
o Capacitive - touch screen relating to an electrical capacitance.

Touch screen interface– whereby users navigate a computers system by touching icons
or links on the screen itself. Is the most simple intuitive and easiest to learn all PC input
devices and is fast becoming the interface of choice for a wide variety of application, such
as:
o Public information system: many people that have little or no computing
experience use information kiosks, tourisms displays, and other electronic
displays.
o Restaurant / POS systems: time is money, especially in a fast restaurant retail
environment.
o Customer self-service: in today fast pace world, waiting in line is one of the
things that have yet to speed up.
o Control / Automation System: the touch screen interface is useful in systems
ranging from industrial process control to home automation.
o Computer Based training: because the touch screen interface is user-friendlier
than other input devices, overall training time for computer novices, and therefore
training expense, can be reduced.

 Light Pen
 Used by engineers, graphic designers, and illustrators, it is a point and draw
input device that allows you to draw directly on screen.
 a pointing device in which the user holds a wand, which is attached to the
computer, up to the screen and selects items or chooses commands on the
screen (the equivalent of a mouse click) either by pressing a clip on the side of
the light pen or by pressing the light pen against the surface of the screen.

 Graphics Tablet
 also called a digitizing tablet.
  Connected by a cable to a stylus (a pen-like device with which the user
“sketches” an image) or puck (a copying device with which the user copies or
traces an image).
 are particularly useful for architects, graphic designers, engineers, and other
people whose work involves some type of illustrations.

 Pen-based System. A pen-like stylus to enter handwriting and marks into a computer.

4 Types:
o Gesture recognition on electronic checklists. Recognizes checkmarks, slashes or
block letters and numbers placed in boxes. Used by meter readers, packages
deliverer and insurance claims representatives.
o Handwriting stored as scribbling
o Handwriting converted, with training, to typed text
o Handwriting converted, without training, to typed text

a.3. Scanning Devices. Translates images of text, drawings, and photos and the like into forms of
data that can be understood by the computer.
 Bar-code Readers. Photoelectric scanners that translate the bar code symbols into
digital forms.
 Mark and character recognition devices.

3 Types:
o Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition (MICR).It reads the strange-looking
numbers printed at the bottom of bank checks or treasury bills.
o Optical Mark Recognition (OMR). It reads pencil marks and converts them into
computer-usable form.
o Optical Character Recognition (OCR). It reads special preprinted characters
and converts them into machine-readable form.

 Fax Machine. It scans an image and sends, it as electronic signals over telephone lines
to a receiving fax machine, which recreates the image on paper.

2 Types:
o Dedicated Fax Machines. Only send and receive fax documents.
o Fax Modem. It is installed as a circuit board inside the computer. A modem with
fax capability, it enables one to send signals directly from one’s computer for
someone else’s stand-alone fax machine or internal fax modem.

 Imaging Systems/Image Scanner/Graphics Scanner. It converts text, drawings, and

photographs into forms that can be stored in a computer system, and then manipulated.
Used in desktop publishing.

Scanner– device for examining an object in detail in order to produce an electronic

image of it, using visible light or another form of electromagnetic radiation such as a
laser.

Optical Scanner
 a computer input device that uses light-sensing equipment to scan paper or
another medium, translating the pattern of light and dark (or color) into a digital
 signal that can be manipulated by either optical character recognition software or
graphics software.
 A frequently encountered type of scanner is “flatbed,” meaning that the scanning
device moves across or reads across a stationary document.
 A very popular type of scanner is the hand-held scanner, so called because the
user holds the scanner in his or her hand and moves it over the document to be
scanned.

Reading-Edge Scanner
 convert printed text into speech.
 Modern technology has expanded library services for people with impaired vision
and hearing. For example, some libraries have introduced computers with:
o Versa Braille System– which translates what, is appearing on a computer
screen into Braille characters.
o Optacon– which converts print or computer output into a tactile form.
o Kurzweil Reading Machine– it scans a book, magazine, or other printed
material and then reads it aloud using a synthesized voice.

 Smart Cards and Optical Cards

o Smart Cards. Contain a microprocessor and a memory chip. It may store up to
30 pages of information. Examples are phone cards, and bank cards.
o Optical Cards. It is a plastic, laser-recordable card used with an optical card
reader. It may store up to 2000 pages documents. Examples are health cards,
optical library-card systems.

a.4. Other Devices

o Voice-Recognition Systems. They convert human speech into digital codes.

Limitations:
- Dependence on the speaker for rigid training
- Most systems can handle only single words, with a 1000 word dictionary while
some new technology such as DragonDictate now has continual speech
recognition and a 30 000 word dictionary.

o Audio-Input Devices. They record or play analog sounds and translate them into digital
forms.

2 Ways of Digitizing an Audio:

o Audio Board
o Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) board

Musical Keyboards
 A musical or electronic keyboard is an instrument that looks somewhat like a
shortened piano keyboard, with buttons that enable it to mimic a host
instruments.
 using technology called Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), they can
communicate with computers, thereby expanding their versatility.

Speech Recognition Devices

 These devices enable computers to hear and record spoken words, and to
respond to spoken commands. These spoken words are changed into binary
 code, then either matched with words stored in the computer’s memory or broken
down into phonemes (the sound building blocks of words).
 is extremely difficult because of the enormous differences in pitch and
pronunciation among various speakers. However, they already have some
applications and they certainly have great potential.

o Video-Input Devices. Signals that come from a VCR or a camera recorder are converted
to digital from through a special video card installed to the computer.

2 Types of Video Card:

o Frame-Gabber. It can capture and digitize only a single frame at a time.
o Full-Motion. It converts analog to digital data at the rate of 30 frames per
second, giving the effect of a continuously flowing movie.

Video Digitizers– these devices enable you to change video images, such as those
taken with a camcorder, into computer readable form.

o Electronic Cameras. They capture images in electronic form for immediate viewing on a
television or monitor of a computer.

2 Types:
o Still-Video. Captures only a single video image at a time. Example is the RC-570
by Canon.
o Digital. It uses a light-sensitive processor chip that captures photo images in
digital form. Example is the QuickTake 100 by Apple Computers.

Digital Camera
 (or digicam) is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by
recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in
the field of digital photography.
 Most 21st century cameras are digital.
o Sensors. A type of input device that collects specific kinds of data directly from the
environment and transmits it to the computer.