How do Touchscreens Work?

Every day you use this technology, most likely taking it for granted. It assists you in everyday tasks, and for most people is necessary for their way of life. This technology is in phones and computers and has profound applications in medical and industrial fields. I am talking about your touchscreen. Yes, that screen on your phone, which contains the technology that allows the phone to know what you click. But the question that most of us have never considered is ‘how do these touch screens work?’ How do these screens recognize touch and assist us in most everyday tasks?

Over time, touch screens have used various innovative technologies to make the screens more effective and sensitive. The two most used touch screens in today’s market are resistive and capacitive touch screens.

Resistance touchscreens are basic touch screens used in ATMs and cash registers. These screens are made to literally resist touch, so when you press hard enough it makes the screen bend. When you press down on the screen, it causes two layers of conductive material to touch, causing the electric current to change at the point you touch. Computer software can recognize that change and therefore knows when you click on a button or sign your name when buying groceries. However, although this technology is durable and consistent,they require a lot more internal screen space and more pressure to click on a button. Therefore, resistance touchscreens are not the best for your mobile phone, which is small and needs to be sensitive.

Capacitive screens are the other most popularly used touchscreens currently. Unlike resistive touchscreens, capacitive screens do not use the pressure of your finger to create a change in the flow of electricity. Instead, they work with anything that holds an electrical charge – including human skin. The touch screens contain tiny copper and tin oxide wires that can detect the human finger’s electrostatic charge. When a finger makes contact with the screen a small charge is transferred to the phone, completing a circuit and letting the phone know where it was touched. This touchscreen is more sophisticated, and allows sensitive screens to be implemented into smaller and smaller devices, like your mobile phone.

Works Cited

http://scienceline.org/2012/01/okay-but-how-do-touch-screens-actually-work/

http://engineering.mit.edu/ask/how-do-touch-sensitive-screens-work

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/AY2013/cs4470_fall/slides/Touchscreen-Technology.pdf

http://www.mark-lundin.com/touchscreen/