THE RECENT ADVANCEMENT AND APPLICATIONS IN TOUCH SCREEN TECHNOLOGY

 What is Touch Screen Technology? Touchscreen technology is the direct manipulation type gesture based technology. Direct manipulation is the ability to manipulate digital world inside a screen without the use of command-line-commands. A device which works on touchscreen technology is coined as Touchscreen. A touchscreen is an electronic visual display capable of ‘detecting’ and effectively ‘locating’ a touch over its display area. It is sensitive to the touch of a human finger, hand, pointed finger nail and passive objects like stylus. Users can simply move things on the screen, scroll them, make them bigger and many more.

 The first ever touchscreen was developed by E.A Johnson at the Royal Radar Establishment, Malvern, UK in the late 1960s. Evidently, the first touchscreen was a capacitive type; the one widely used in smart phones nowadays. In 1971, a milestone to touchscreen technology was developed by Doctor Sam Hurst, an instructor at the University of Kentucky Research Foundation. It was a touch sensor named ‘Elograph’. Later in 1974, Hurst in association with his company Elographics came up with the first real touchscreen featuring a transparent surface. In 1977, Elographics developed and patented a resistive touchscreen technology, one of the most popular touchscreen technologies in use today.  Ever since then, touchscreen displays are widely used in computers, user interactive machines, public kiosks, point of sale applications, gaming consoles, PDAs, smartphones, tablets, notes etc.

 Pressure Detection Some touch screens currently do offer pressure sensitive technology. However, these features are not very accurate due to the fact that they measure pressure by surface area (i.e. as you push hard, more of your finger covers the screen.) This is not a true indication of pressure, but there technologies on the horizon that may soon solve that. Using force sensing resistors and piezoelectric actuators behind a LCD touch screen, companies like Sony are testing devices that measure the amount of pressure exerted on a specific location on the screen. Using different amounts of pressure to manipulate the screen would not only require less buttons, but allow for more features on every screen. On a computer or e-reader for example, this technology would allow a user to scroll faster or slower depending on the firmness of his or her touch. On a music player, one could browse through songs at their own pace based on pressure Pressure Detection Some touch screens currently do offer pressure sensitive technology. However, these features are not very accurate due to the fact that they measure pressure by surface area (i.e. as you push hard, more of your finger covers the screen.) This is not a true indication of pressure, but there technologies on the horizon that may soon solve that. Using force sensing resistors and piezoelectric actuators behind a LCD touch screen, companies like Sony are testing devices that measure the amount of pressure exerted on a specific location on the screen. Using different amounts of pressure to manipulate the screen would not only require less buttons, but allow for more features on every screen. On a computer or e-reader for example, this technology would allow a user to scroll faster or slower depending on the firmness of his or her touch. On a music player, one could browse through songs at their own pace based on pressure..

 Hover Awareness Perhaps an extension of the pressure sensitive touch screen is the fact that eventually, you may not even have to make contact with a touch screen to get a reaction. Mitsubishi and Cypress are among the technology experts who have unveiled ‘hover detection’ demos. These screens can not only react when the panel is touched, but can also detect when a finger is near the surface. This so called “mouse-over” function will make touch screen technology seem almost magical. It would also increase usability. Certainly there would be a time and place for this function, as you wouldn’t want it reacting to you simply because you happen to be near the screen. But much like a mouse arrow hovering over an icon, holding your finger over a link could open up a pop-up or small preview of that page. If you wanted to enter that link, then you could simply move your finger down slightly and press the screen

 Touch Sensitivity  Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of a touch screen is that the user has to look at what they are pushing in order to be accurate. This is the reason some people prefer a regular keyboard over a touch screen. The grooves of the keyboard allow the user to feel where their hand or fingers are without taking a glance down.  But touch screens may soon be able to do the same. Tactile feedback may soon help users feel where they are on the screen, allowing them to maneuver without even looking at the screen. For example, as you glide over the screen, some buttons may feel smooth while others give a rough sensation. Using pulses of electric current on the surface, Toshiba and others already have this type of solution in the works.  By differentiating the feel of icons, users would be able to find the appropriate button by using only their sense of touch. The technology can even be transferred to the keyboard, where rough sensations could divide each key from another. Beyond regular usability, offering feedback by touch would allow the visually impaired to use these gadgets more easily. It’s not a far stretch from Braille technology, just transferred to the new generation of consumer electronics.

 An example of application is what if we are sitting down at a restaurant table but a server never comes to pass out menus or take any orders? How would we get menus? View the options? Order food?  The answer lies in touch screen technology. With current advancements, tables have already been developed that also serve as giant touch screens. Restaurant customers can sort through the menu, indicate what dishes they would like and have the food delivered without ever speaking to a waiter or waitress.

 Touch screens are fast becoming the wave of the future, and the momentum doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. As software engineers continue to push for the most user-friendly interfaces, your fingers are quickly becoming the most powerful tools around you.  Mobile phones are increasingly integrating touch screens. Tablet computers like the iPad are the new must-have technology. Remotes, cameras, e-readers and car navigation units are all moving to touch screen interfaces as well. Meanwhile, your phone buttons, keyboard, mouse and other electronics are increasingly becoming the leftovers of a past generation.  But can touch screens truly replace our reliable old buttons? There are certainly still good uses for the older technology. Many people have trouble typing quickly and accurately on a touch screen for example.  But there are several advancements coming that may make touch screens even easier to use, and thus even more common in everyday devices.

 Touchscreens have been available since the days of cathode- ray tubes, but the technology didn’t really catch on with consumers until mobile phone makers adopted it to solve the tiny-button problem. Now touchscreen smartphones and tablets collectively constitute the fastest-growing electronics market segment.  Touch screen technology is fast replacing tactile keyboards, numeric pads, even buttons and pointing devices. With the technology's rapid development, intensive research and advancement in manufacturing, they become cheaper and more affordable to incorporate in the most portable devices such as cellphones and PDAs.  However, thanks to new technologies such as touch screens and facial recognition software, it seems compute mouse’s days are numbered with analysts predicting that they could be completely obsolete within five years

 The main advantage of a touch screen over the conventional mouse, keyboard and monitor layout is that the screen itself acts as both input and output devices. Not only does this save space but also it means that a computer can be placed in locations where a keyboard and mouse layout would be impractical such as outside or left unattended.  Touch screen technology is also widely used in industrial applications as not having a keyboard and mouse means that contaminants such as grease, dirt and dust cannot enter and clog up the input devices. Touch screens can also be enclosed in an industrial computer enclosure protecting it from water, dust and even explosive atmospheres allowing a computer to be placed even in the most inhospitable environments.  Touch screen technology is changing the way we interact with computers and allowing technology to be placed in areas where traditional computers would not have been placed

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