How Touchscreens Know Your Touching It (Resistive & Capacitive Touchscreens) Pt1

 

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"How Touchscreens Know Your Touching It, Resistive & Capacitive Touchscreens Pt1"

  We are gonna talk about how the piece of glass you always have been touching now that you are touching it. Also, why it works to use a finger or a sausage on your touchscreen, but your phone drops to 0 iq when you have gloves or water on your hands. Also, much more. 

Gorillas and Glass

  If we go back in time. We can see that your touchscreen was actually a slab of high-quality silica sand, Basically the super fancy kind. Then the smart apes (scientists) turn this sand into glass, using dark magic which you don't need to know. 

  Yay! Glass, but this glass is super weak. That is why we give it a chemical coating (more dark magic). Than we have something called gorilla glass! 

The 2 Kinds Of Touching

  We are gonna talk about 2 kinds of touchscreens. The one you use on your personal devices (Phone, laptop, watch, etc), Also known as Capacitive Touchscreen. 

  And the touchscreen you see in a McDonald's Kiosk (That thing you use to order McDonald). AKA public things. Which is called Resistive Touchscreens.

McDoodels KiosK (Resistive Touchscreens)

  That consists of 2 layers. The upper one is of plastic and the one below is made out of glass. Both layers are coated with conductive material (AKA they will make eLeCtRiCiTy when the 2 touches). 

  So when you touch the plastic it will go backwards and touch the glass and it will make eLeCtRiCiTy. 

  Now, the Kiosk knows that it's being touched. But it doesn't really know where it's being touched. Turns out the coating was very precise. It's in a grid pattern. So when you touch a part of the touchscreen it knows which grid you are touching. Yay, but wait. 

  This kinda sucks cause you have to use force to BEND the plastic backward to touch the glass.  Also, it's not reliable. But it lasts longer. So you will see companies like Mcdoodels using it. 

Phone (Capacitive Touchscreens)

  Capacitive Touchscreens are more reliable. It consists of...

1. Cover Glass or Top Layer: This is the outermost layer that users directly interact with. It is made of durable glass or plastic and protects the underlying layers from scratches and damage.

2. Conductive Coating: Beneath the cover glass, there is a thin layer of conductive material (usually indium tin oxide or ITO). This coating forms a grid of electrodes that detect changes in capacitance when touched.

3. Dielectric Layer: Below the conductive coating, there is a dielectric layer (usually made of glass or plastic). The dielectric material insulates the conductive layer from the other layers and helps maintain the touch sensitivity.

4. Spacer Dots or Air Gap: Some capacitive touchscreens have tiny spacer dots or an air gap between the conductive layer and the next layer. These prevent accidental touches and improve accuracy.

5. Sensor Grid: The sensor grid consists of rows and columns of electrodes. When you touch the screen, your finger’s electrical charge changes the capacitance at specific points on the grid, allowing the system to determine the touch location.

6. Controller or Touchscreen Controller: The controller interprets the signals from the sensor grid and converts them into digital coordinates. It communicates with the device’s operating system to process touch input.

7. Display Layer: Finally, beneath all the other layers, there is the actual display (LCD or OLED). The display layer shows the visual content and responds to the touch input detected by the capacitive layers above it.

I just realized this was becoming quite long so you guys will have to wait for part 2. Shoot for the Stars! Starloggers! Dont forget! We post every day on 5:00 AM Sharp!