Research Post 7: Touchscreen Interface

[ABauer]

Introduction

There are many different emerging technological trends that will become more apparent in the coming years. One recent technological trend which is being more utilized now than in the past is the use of touch screen monitors to replace traditional monitors. Touch screen monitors have the benefit of being able to physically touch an option on the monitor as opposed to using a mouse to manipulate the option for you. Touch screen monitors essentially eliminate an intermediary in the computer’s operating system. This can help save users time because this interface is faster than using a traditional point-and-click interface. There are also many other benefits and issues in using touch screen interface in order to operate a computer system.

Body

Touch screen technology has impressive benefits which many users find advantageous. “A touch screen is an electronic visual output that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touch or contact to the display of the device by a finger or hand. Touch screens can also sense other passive objects, such as a pen. However, if the object sensed is active, as with a light pen, the term touch screen is generally not applicable” [1]. So, when a user has to use a pen or wand to manipulate actions on a computer, touch screen is not the preferred nomenclature for the interface. Many people can become confused by this terminology, so it should be noted that this is the proper way to classify the subject-matter.
Users of touch screen interface should be aware of the primary attributes it provides. “The touch screen has two main attributes. First, it enables one to interact with what is displayed directly on the hand, where it is displayed, rather than indirect with a mouse or touchpad. Secondly, it lets one do so without requiring any intermediate device, again, such as a stylus that needs to be held in the hand. Such displays can be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances such as the personal digital assistant (PDA), satellite navigation devices, mobile phones, and video games” [1]. Users find this interface to be very innovative and convenient; however this technology has been around for many years. It has only been until recently that touch screen interface has been available for commercial use.
Touch screens came about in the 1940’s from corporate research labs. They were innovated as a means to help users with learning different programs and became more popular in the 1970’s and 1980’s. “The HP-150 from 1983 was probably the world's earliest commercial touch screen computer. It did not actually have a touch screen in the strict sense, but a 9" Sony CRT surrounded by infrared transmitters and receivers which detect the position of any non-transparent object on the screen” [1]. This technology has come a long way but is certain to have a bigger role as time passes and users become more aware of the benefits it can provide.
Speed is one of the main benefits of a touch screen interface to its users. “Touch screens provide fast access to any and all types of digital media, with no text-bound interface getting in the way. It takes time for the user to grab a mouse or use a keyboard or trackball and coordinate it with what needs to be activated on the display” [2]. When a business can input information faster into its system than using a point-and-click interface, it translates into saved time for customers in such industries as food service, retail, hotels, and movie theatres. This ability to save time means better customer loyalty scores which will keep the customer coming back for years.
Touch screen interface can also be easier for users to work on while they take up company time. “Users feel comfortable that they cannot "do anything wrong"; they instinctively understand how to use the interface. Touchscreen systems make everyone an "expert user" from the first touch-whether it's a person consulting a kiosk, a worker controlling an industrial process, a nurse entering a patient's information, or a waiter entering an order” [2]. Users tend to be much faster at their work when they can touch a screen. This is especially true for people who work in the service industry. As more and more patrons expect service in a timely manner, workers can get stressed. Adding to that stress is an operating system that can’t operate as fast as they want. Touch screens keep up with the work at hand as users find touch screens less complex than traditional forms of computing.
Let’s also not forget the reduced costs associated with a touch screen interface. “Using a touch interface can effectively increase operator accuracy, reduce training time, and improve overall operational efficiencies, thus keeping costs down. In the retail environment, for example, a properly designed touch interface can improve each operator's accuracy, while maintaining optimum checkout speeds. Users can respond quickly without making significant errors” [2]. The learning process associated with the use of a touch screen interface is also shorter, helping to reduce costs of training as well. Operational efficiencies become more apparent with the use of touch screens.
Touch screens can also save the space required to house a computer, also contributing to reduced costs by saving storage space. “Touchmonitors ensure that no space-on the desktop or elsewhere-is wasted, since the input device is completely integrated into the display. Flat LCD touchmonitors help save even more space. And there are no keyboard or mouse cords in front of the monitor to get tangled or damaged, or to gather dust” [2]. Many workers find that the added stress of computer design complexity can add to a miserable work environment. Companies can keep their point-and-click interface as a fail-safe if they want to, but it is not required in order to operate.
Another benefit of touch screen technology is its durability and its ease of cleaning. “A touch screen is made of glass or a similar hard-coated surface. So it's easy to clean and therefore extremely well suited for the typical environments found in restaurants, hospitals, and the food and pharmaceutical industries” [2]. The touch screen’s durable, easy-to-clean surface is ideal for constant use and can ensure a long life-span, if maintained properly. This concept will help with reduced costs as well, because businesses that provide this technology to its employees will not have to worry about updating their systems quite so often.
Most users think the idea of touch screen is categorized to just one simple device. There are, in fact, at least four main categories of touch screen interface that users should be aware of. The first category is resistive technology. “Resistive technology is commonly found on point-of-sale devices like the electronic signature pad at a grocery store checkout. Resistive touch screens rely on a thin film that is applied to the touch surface. The technology is relatively inexpensive to implement, but it’s also fragile. Not only does the surface film degrade the optical clarity of the display, it wears out. In high demand situations, resistive touch screens can fail quickly” [4]. Resistive technology is typically found in restaurants or gas stations on most POS systems. “Most of these screens are based on resistive technology, which employs a flexible outer layer. When pressed, this layer touches a fixed inner layer to create continuity, which is translated into an X-Y position” [6].
Another form of touch screen interface being implemented recently is capacitive touch screens. “Capacitive touch screens, such as the one found on some appliances and mobile electronics, are generally more robust than their resistive counterparts. However, the manufacturing process is complex, resulting in low yields, high prices, and an inability to reliably manufacture larger touch screen devices. Capacitive systems typically require the use of a finger as an input device – most cannot detect a stylus, gloved finger or other object” [4]. “The fastest growing and arguably most exciting of these technologies is projected capacitive. However, there are very few vendors of this technology, and new market entrants face the formidable barrier of patents on multi-touch algorithms, sensing layer patterns, and gesture extraction methods” [6].
The last two categories of touch screen interface are similar in design and output. “SAW and IR devices use surface mounted components that project either an acoustic wave or an infra-red beam across the touchscreen area. Such systems can be much more robust than either resistive or capacitive systems, but they are dramatically more expensive. SAW and IR also impose more product design constraints, as the screen bezel has to be prominent from the screen and large enough to accommodate the necessary electronics. Lastly, SAW and IR can suffer from blind spots created by on-screen contaminants, making the technologies rather sensitive to environmental dust” [4]. SAW and IR are very technologically advanced but not as practical for many companies until advancements are to be made. “SAW screens are impractical for mobile applications because of the requirement for special mechanical mounting of acoustic transducers in the corners, and the need for special mounting methods in general. The cost is also significant, but so is robustness, as there is no need for a clear electrode over the front of the display” [6].
Touch screen interface has become very popular around the world as more and more products are being innovated to cater to this growing market. But as time passes and as many people start to become enamored with the abilities touch screens can bring to their lives, multi-touch interface is picking up momentum and starting to take over for the somewhat out-dated touch-screen interface. “About a year ago it announced a new hardware product called Surface. Designed for the retail and hospitality industries, it's a big multi-touch display that fits into a tabletop or counter. Surface just made its public debut at a handful of AT&T stores, where customers can use hand gestures to peruse maps showing cellular coverage and compare handsets and wireless plans. Multi-touch is creeping into other products as well. The latest versions of Apple's MacBook Pro and Air notebooks support multi-touch gestures on an oversize touchpad. This is an improvement over the traditional touchpad; you can, for example, use pinch-and-stretch to resize windows, as on the iPhone” [5]. People have not only found the multi-touch interface to be entertaining, but very useful at the same time.
There have been a few different products in the past few years that have really expedited the growth of touch screen technology, all of which have been very popular. The first popular gadget which utilized a touch screen interface to be used in everyday life was the Palm Pilot. “Launched in 1996, it was the first mainstream handheld with a touch screen. You could tap menu items and buttons with a stylus or enter text on the screen using a special shorthand called Graffiti” [5]. Another extremely popular gadget to incorporate a touch screen interface was Apple’s iPhone. “Apple beat everyone to the punch by building the newest "multi-touch" technology into the iPhone. Who needs a keyboard when you can drag objects around with a fingertip or shrink them by pinching your thumb and index finger together” [5]. A gadget that is starting to gain some momentum in popularity is the Tablet. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition was one of the first to incorporate a multi-touch interface. “Microsoft launched this software in 2003, predicting a wave of touch-controlled tablet computers. The wave never came, but tablets have been popular in some markets and the new Dell Latitude XT is giving the category some fresh buzz” [5].
Tablets are one of many different computing systems that have incorporated the use of touch screens interface to its operating system. Tablets have also been around for a few years but it hasn’t been until recently that they have become more popular. This is because Apple recently came out with its own version of a tablet released earlier this year, called the iPad. Tablets are limited in the amount of work that can be done on a computer, but are great in terms of conducting everyday processes for an on-the-go CPU. These tablets allow users to check their e-mail, surf the web, and conduct simple transactions from anywhere with wireless reception. The iPad, with multi-touch interface, will be used as a benchmark for this topic’s purpose. “The iPad does a lot--Web browsing, e-mail, photos, music, movies, games, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, e-books--but you'll notice that it doesn't do anything your other devices don't, and in many cases your other devices do those things better. The difference lies in what you can do with the iPad. You can pick it up. You can rest it in your lap. You can pass it around. You can leave it on a coffee table. You can tuck it in a bag. You can one-hand it while reading on a train” [3]. The multi-touch interface is one of the defining characteristics of the iPad and has had a profound impact on its popularity as a gadget.
The major disadvantage of touch screen technology comes from the initial purchase price of the devices. As we discussed earlier, SAW and IR technologies are very expensive and, currently, not very practical. Touch screen technology can help save companies money as time passes. But this also depends on the wear and tear this technology goes through in each individual business. The iPad’s purchase price for a base unit is around $600. “The new Dell Latitude XT laptop illustrates why this is a problem. It's a convertible tablet PC with a screen that pivots and folds so it can be used as a conventional laptop or as a writing slate. It has two touch sensors, allowing use of either a finger for convenience or a special pen for greater accuracy. This inch-thick, 3.5-lb. notebook, starting at $2,499, may be the all-around best tablet on the market” [5]. This is just a couple of examples of how pricey this form of technology can be.
Another major disadvantage with touch screen technology specifically refers to resistive touch panels. These monitors are especially sensitive to everyday wear and tear. “However, the mechanical wear and tear in resistive touch panels, particularly of the outer polymeric membrane, causes tiny cracks in the indium-tin-oxide coating, changing its resistance and degrading the linearity of the voltage across the membrane and therefore the measured accuracy along one axis. The mechanical nature of resistive touch devices makes them less than ideal for harsh environments. They are susceptible to moisture and the expansion and contraction of the polymeric layer due to temperature and humidity changes can negatively affect the coatings and degrade accuracy. Users of such touchscreens experience this decrease in accuracy as drift, and the touchscreens may require recalibration. The requirement to use a bezel or will makes resistive touch sensors prone to collecting dust, and the need for a touch layer separate from the display can result in poor optical properties due to transmittance loss, reflection, and haze” [7]. This means that under limited use and under precise conditions, resistive technology can be very beneficial and practical, but there aren’t many scenarios which allow for this experience.
Capacitive technology is well-suited for multi-touch interface but has a few problems of its own in everyday use. “Despite its obvious benefits, projected capacitive touch technology has some
disadvantages, including higher cost, software dependency, input inaccuracy, and limits on using a stylus or a gloved finger to make inputs. Many of these problems arise because the technology is in a relatively early stage of adoption. Capacitive touchscreens have yet to achieve the cost economics of resistive touchscreens and are more expensive than resistive devices” [7]. So, it seems the biggest obstacle keeping capacitive touch technology is its cost. This reiterates the continued obstacle facing touch screen technology: cost efficiency.

Conclusion

There are many well documented and observed benefits of touch screen technology. Its popularity reaches new levels with each passing day. It has become a benefit to many different service and retail industries. The costs associated with this benefit are hindering its further development and acceptance. If the companies which produce these technologies can innovate a way to make their products more cost effective as well as more resistant to everyday wear and tear, they would theoretically become more lucrative and in the process create a more loyal customer base.

Questions

1. What other innovative uses of touch screen or multi-touch interface can you think of?
2. Do you think multi-touch interface will cause traditional touch screen technologies to become extinct?
3. What are some ways to control the costs associated with touch screen technologies?

References

1. Wikipedia. “Touchscreen”. (1 May 2010). Retrieved from Google on May 2, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen.
2. Tyco Electronics. “Benefits of Touch Interface”. (2010). Retrieved from Google on May 2, 2010. http://www.elotouch.com/solutions/ca...benefitswp.asp.
3. Grossman, Lev. “Launch Pad”. (12 April 2010). Time. Vol.175 Issue 14. Retrieved from Business Source Premiere database.
4. Molne, Anders and Griffith David. “Touch Force”. (Feb 2009). Appliance Design. Vol.57 Issue 2. Retrieved from Business Source Premiere database.
5. Wildstrom, Stephen H. “A Touch of Genius”. (19 May 2008). BusinessWeek. Issue 4084. Retrieved from Business Source Premiere database.
6. Phillip, Hal. “What’s New in Touch-Screen Design?” (19 Nov 2008). Electronics Weekly. Issue 2361. Retrieved from Business Source Premiere database.
7. Hsu, Andrew. “Choosing a Touch Technology for Handheld-System Applications”. (8 Jan 2009). EDN. Vol.54 Issue 1. Retrieved from Business Source Premiere database.

[mdhamodharan]

2. Do you think multi-touch interface will cause traditional touch screen technologies to become extinct?

Yes. There was once a great demand for desktop computers, but now everyone has moved to laptop computers. Nowadays, people are more inclined towards tablet pc's and iphones etc. So, as new technology comes up and if it gives more usability like touch screens with multi-functional options, I am sure people will prefer those than the traditional touch screens.

One other important reason is to keep up with the current trend. Young adults and students which is most of the market for new gadgets will prefer to keep themselves to the current trend. The multi-touch screen technology will surely attract this market segment and will slowly move the users away from the traditional touch screens. Some advantages can be the ease of use, compact and handy, durable and easy to clean.

References

http://www.elotouch.com/solutions/ca...benefitswp.asp