07-03-2012, 02:31 PM
MULTI TOUCH SCREENS
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Abstract
The way we use computers today will soon change. The technology of the future will allow us to interact with the computer on a whole different level from what we are used to. The tools we use to communicate with the computer – such as the mouse and the keyboard, will soon disappear and be replaced with tools more comfortable and more natural for the human being to use. That future is already here. This report describes about the multi touch technology and their applications.
The increase rate of how touch screen hardware and applications are used is growing rapidly and will break new grounds in years to come. This new technology requires new ways for detecting inputs from the user – inputs which will be made out of onscreen gestures rather than by pressing of buttons or rolling mouse wheels.
Introduction
Touch screen
All of the touch screens basically work like a mouse. Once the software driver for the touch screen is installed, the touch screen emulates mouse functions. Touching the screen is basically the same as clicking your mouse at the same point at the screen. When you touch the touch screen, the mouse cursor will move to that point and make a mouse click. You can tap the screen twice to perform a double click, and you can also drag your finger across the touch screen to perform drag-and-drops. The touch screens will normally emulate left mouse clicks. Through software, you can also switch the touch screen to perform right mouse clicks instead.
Multi touch screen
Multi-touch consists of a touch screen (screen, overlay, table, wall, etc.) or touchpad, as well as software that recognizes multiple simultaneous touch points, as opposed to the single touch screen (e.g. computer touchpad, ATM), which recognizes only one touch point. This effect is achieved through a variety of means, including: heat, finger pressure, high capture rate cameras, infrared light, optic capture, tuned electromagnetic induction, ultrasonic receivers, transducer microphones, laser rangefinders, and shadow capture.
COMPARISIONS
• Touch-tablets vs Touch screens: In some ways these are two extremes of a continuum. If, for example, you have paper graphics on your tablet, is that a display (albeit more-or-less static) or not? What if the “display” on the touch tablet is a tactile display rather than visual? There are similarities, but there are real differences between touch-sensitive display surfaces, vs touch pads or tablets. It is a difference of directness. If you touch exactly where the thing you are interacting with is, let’s call it a touch screen or touch display. If your hand is touching a surface that is not overlaid on the screen, let's call it a touch tablet or touch pad.
• Discrete vs Continuous: The nature of interaction with multi-touch input is highly dependent on the nature of discrete vs continuous actions supported. Many conventional touch-screen interfaces are based discrete items such as pushing so-called "light buttons", for example. An example of a multi-touch interface using such discrete actions would be using a soft graphical QWERTY keyboard, where one finger holds the shift key and another pushes the key for the upper-case character that one wants to enter. An example of two fingers doing a coordinated continuous action would be where they are stretching the diagonally opposed corners of a rectangle, for example. Between the two is a continuous/discrete situation, such as where one emulates a mouse, for example, using one finger for indicating continuous position, and other fingers, when in contact, indicate mouse button pushes, for example.
• Degrees of Freedom: The richness of interaction is highly related to the richness/numbers of degrees of freedom (DOF), and in particular, continuous degrees of freedom, supported by the technology. The conventional GUI is largely based on moving around a single 2D cursor, using a mouse, for example. This results in 2DOF. If I am sensing the location of two fingers, I have 4DOF, and so on. When used appropriately, these technologies offer the potential to begin to capture the type of richness of input that we encounter in the everyday world, and do so in a manner that exploits the everyday skills that we have acquired living in it. This point is tightly related to the previous one.
• Size matters: Size largely determines what muscle groups are used, how many fingers/hands can be active on the surface, and what types of gestures are suited for the device. The ability to sense the size of the area being touched can be as important as the size of the touch surface
BASIC IDEAS OF MULTI TOUCH DISPLAY
A basic touch screen has three main components: a touch sensor, a controller, and a software driver. The touch screen is an input device, so it needs to be combined with a display and a PC or other device to make a complete touch input system.
1. Touch Sensor
A touch screen sensor is a clear glass panel with a touch responsive surface. The touch sensor/panel is placed over a display screen so that the responsive area of the panel covers the viewable area of the video screen. There are several different touch sensor technologies on the market today, each using a different method to detect touch input. The sensor generally has an electrical current or signal going through it and touching the screen causes a voltage or signal change. This voltage change is used to determine the location of the touch to the screen.
2. Controller
The controller is a small PC card that connects between the touch sensor and the PC. It takes information from the touch sensor and translates it into information that PC can understand. The controller is usually installed inside the monitor for integrated monitors or it is housed in a plastic case for external touch add-ons/overlays. The controller determines what type of interface/connection you will need on the PC. Integrated touch monitors will have an extra cable connection on the back for the touch screen. Controllers are available that can connect to a Serial/COM port (PC) or to a USB port (PC or Macintosh). Specialized controllers are also available that work with DVD players and other devices.
[attachment=18067]
Abstract
The way we use computers today will soon change. The technology of the future will allow us to interact with the computer on a whole different level from what we are used to. The tools we use to communicate with the computer – such as the mouse and the keyboard, will soon disappear and be replaced with tools more comfortable and more natural for the human being to use. That future is already here. This report describes about the multi touch technology and their applications.
The increase rate of how touch screen hardware and applications are used is growing rapidly and will break new grounds in years to come. This new technology requires new ways for detecting inputs from the user – inputs which will be made out of onscreen gestures rather than by pressing of buttons or rolling mouse wheels.
Introduction
Touch screen
All of the touch screens basically work like a mouse. Once the software driver for the touch screen is installed, the touch screen emulates mouse functions. Touching the screen is basically the same as clicking your mouse at the same point at the screen. When you touch the touch screen, the mouse cursor will move to that point and make a mouse click. You can tap the screen twice to perform a double click, and you can also drag your finger across the touch screen to perform drag-and-drops. The touch screens will normally emulate left mouse clicks. Through software, you can also switch the touch screen to perform right mouse clicks instead.
Multi touch screen
Multi-touch consists of a touch screen (screen, overlay, table, wall, etc.) or touchpad, as well as software that recognizes multiple simultaneous touch points, as opposed to the single touch screen (e.g. computer touchpad, ATM), which recognizes only one touch point. This effect is achieved through a variety of means, including: heat, finger pressure, high capture rate cameras, infrared light, optic capture, tuned electromagnetic induction, ultrasonic receivers, transducer microphones, laser rangefinders, and shadow capture.
COMPARISIONS
• Touch-tablets vs Touch screens: In some ways these are two extremes of a continuum. If, for example, you have paper graphics on your tablet, is that a display (albeit more-or-less static) or not? What if the “display” on the touch tablet is a tactile display rather than visual? There are similarities, but there are real differences between touch-sensitive display surfaces, vs touch pads or tablets. It is a difference of directness. If you touch exactly where the thing you are interacting with is, let’s call it a touch screen or touch display. If your hand is touching a surface that is not overlaid on the screen, let's call it a touch tablet or touch pad.
• Discrete vs Continuous: The nature of interaction with multi-touch input is highly dependent on the nature of discrete vs continuous actions supported. Many conventional touch-screen interfaces are based discrete items such as pushing so-called "light buttons", for example. An example of a multi-touch interface using such discrete actions would be using a soft graphical QWERTY keyboard, where one finger holds the shift key and another pushes the key for the upper-case character that one wants to enter. An example of two fingers doing a coordinated continuous action would be where they are stretching the diagonally opposed corners of a rectangle, for example. Between the two is a continuous/discrete situation, such as where one emulates a mouse, for example, using one finger for indicating continuous position, and other fingers, when in contact, indicate mouse button pushes, for example.
• Degrees of Freedom: The richness of interaction is highly related to the richness/numbers of degrees of freedom (DOF), and in particular, continuous degrees of freedom, supported by the technology. The conventional GUI is largely based on moving around a single 2D cursor, using a mouse, for example. This results in 2DOF. If I am sensing the location of two fingers, I have 4DOF, and so on. When used appropriately, these technologies offer the potential to begin to capture the type of richness of input that we encounter in the everyday world, and do so in a manner that exploits the everyday skills that we have acquired living in it. This point is tightly related to the previous one.
• Size matters: Size largely determines what muscle groups are used, how many fingers/hands can be active on the surface, and what types of gestures are suited for the device. The ability to sense the size of the area being touched can be as important as the size of the touch surface
BASIC IDEAS OF MULTI TOUCH DISPLAY
A basic touch screen has three main components: a touch sensor, a controller, and a software driver. The touch screen is an input device, so it needs to be combined with a display and a PC or other device to make a complete touch input system.
1. Touch Sensor
A touch screen sensor is a clear glass panel with a touch responsive surface. The touch sensor/panel is placed over a display screen so that the responsive area of the panel covers the viewable area of the video screen. There are several different touch sensor technologies on the market today, each using a different method to detect touch input. The sensor generally has an electrical current or signal going through it and touching the screen causes a voltage or signal change. This voltage change is used to determine the location of the touch to the screen.
2. Controller
The controller is a small PC card that connects between the touch sensor and the PC. It takes information from the touch sensor and translates it into information that PC can understand. The controller is usually installed inside the monitor for integrated monitors or it is housed in a plastic case for external touch add-ons/overlays. The controller determines what type of interface/connection you will need on the PC. Integrated touch monitors will have an extra cable connection on the back for the touch screen. Controllers are available that can connect to a Serial/COM port (PC) or to a USB port (PC or Macintosh). Specialized controllers are also available that work with DVD players and other devices.