Topic 7 - Devices for display and interaction

Touch screen mobile devices

Origin of touch screens

One of the early touch screens which was used as part of an educational project was in 1972 for a project called PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations). Worlds earliest commercial touch screen was HP-150 which was used in 1983.

What is a touch screen?

Touch screen is a display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. Although touch screens generally refer to touch by hand or finger, there are other types which detect the presence of a stylus.

Primary purpose

They enable the user to interact with what’s displayed on the screen directly and mostly without the use of any additional equipment such as a mouse.

Technologies used

Resistive touch screen technology recognizes the touch by a change in electrical current caused by the pressure applied to the screen. Capacitive touch screen technology responds to finger touch only and they use a charge storing material surface and circuits located at the corners of the screen measures the capacitance of a person touching the overlay. SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) technology uses acoustic waves and sends them across a clear glass panel with a series of transducers and reflectors. When a finger touches the screen the waves are absorbed causing a touch event to be registered from that point. Infrared technology uses a controller to pulse a grid of infrared light beams over the screen and a touch obstructs the beams which help to identify the X and Y coordinates.

Advances on this technology

Apple iPod touch has taken the technology further by an enhanced user interface that not only detects the location of one point it detects the presence of more than one finger and the direction you move them. The software used to classify your touch is called as gesture software.

Popular examples of touch screen mobile devices

Mobile phones, game consoles, automotive GPS use the advantage of touch screen to enhance the usability and practicality of such devices.

Situations where the device improves the display or interaction over any alternative device

I think GPS is an ideal example where the device improves the interaction over any alternative.

Aged care & technology innovation

mHealth is beginning to extend eHealth and has the potential to be practical and bring technology and people(patients and carers) closer together. Mobile phone will be a prominent device with mHealth solutions.

Safe2Walk was launched in September 27 by Alzheimer’s Australia. The solution combines GPS and mobile phone technology. Patients can wear the device and it updates the location every 60 seconds to a web site. Carers can log into a secure web site to find out the patients location. In emergency situations the wearer can press a button which can store up to 3 pre programmed emergency phone numbers. The system will automatically divert the call to 2nd and 3rd numbers if the primary number is busy.
Popular science 2009 describes below solutions which utilise mobile phones.
Nokia N79 phone which interacts via Bluetooth with a heart monitor and records heart rate along with other information such as route, altitude, speed and distance. The software can chart the user’s progress and allow the user to compare it with another chart on the Nokia’s sports tracker web site.
Soon there will be mobile devices on the market that connect with blood-pressure cuffs and diabetics’ glucose meters. They will be able to send statistics directly to your doctor and alerts will remind you to check your statistics and what your target numbers are.
Mobile devices for 2012 and beyond will check vital statistics automatically which will receive signals from implantable sensors. This information will be relayed to the doctor who can send back instructions for the implants. The phone could then signal the sensor to take extra measurements or eventually to release a dose of insulin or painkiller.
GlowCaps is a smart-lid that fits the standard pill containers. It uses wireless technology to monitor when the pill box is opened and when it isn’t. If at the prescribed times the pill box isn’t opened it will alert via few different methods. First it will set on an alert light indicator fixed in the house, if the container is still not opened it will send a message to the service provider by connecting via wireless signals and the service provider can then place an automated call or SMS back to the user.
Scan avert is another new wireless health application that will help users avoid eating something that they are allergic to or that might interfere with a medicine they are prescribed. Users need to register with the scan avert service first and identify allergies, dietary preferences, illnesses and conditions, prescriptions and other criteria. Once registered they can use their mobile phone camera to scan a product before they purchase at the grocery and scan avert will compare nutritional information and alert the user if it might cause problems to the user.