National University of the East Polytechnic Faculty

Career:
Systems Engineering

Subject:
Languages III

Topic:
Input Devices

Teacher:
Olga Ines Chaves Year: 2013

Index

Introduction Types of Input Devices

Keyboards Pointing devices High-degree of freedom input devices Composite devices Imaging, Audio and video input devices

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Conclusion Bibliography

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Introduction

In computing,

an input

device is

any peripheral (piece

of computer

hardware equipment) used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system such as a computer or other information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, mouse, scanners, digital cameras and joysticks. Many input devices can be classified according to:

Modality of input (e.g. mechanical motion, audio, visual, etc.) The input is discrete (e.g. key presses) or continuous (e.g. a mouse's position, though digitized into a discrete quantity, is fast enough to be considered continuous)

the number of degrees of freedom involved (e.g. two-dimensional traditional mice, or three-dimensional navigators designed for CAD applications)

Types of Input Devices

Keyboard
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style device, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Following the decline of punch cards and paper tape, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards became the main input device for computers. A keyboard typically has characters engraved or printed on the keys and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written symbol. However, to produce some symbols requires pressing and holding several keys simultaneously or in sequence. While most keyboard keys produce letters, numbers or signs (characters), other keys or simultaneous key presses can produce actions or execute computer commands. Despite the development of alternative input devices, such as

the mouse, touchscreen, pen devices, character recognition and voice recognition, the keyboard remains the most commonly used and most versatile device used for direct (human) computers. input into

Pointing Devices
A pointing device is an input

interface (specifically a human interface device) that allows a user to

input spatial (i.e., continuous and multidimensional) data to

a computer. CAD systems and graphical user interfaces (GUI) allow the user to control and provide data to the

computer using physical gestures point, click, and drag for example, by moving a hand-held mouse across the surface of the physical desktop and activating switches on the mouse. Movements of the pointing device are echoed on the screen by movements of the pointer (or cursor) and other visual changes. While the most common pointing device by far is the mouse, many more devices have been developed. A "rodent" is a technical term referring to a device which generates mouse-like input. However, the term "mouse" is commonly used as a metaphor for devices that move the cursor.

High Degree of Freedom Input Devices

Some devices allow many continuous degrees of freedom as input. These can be used as pointing devices, but are generally used in ways that don't involve pointing to a location in space, such as the control of a camera angle while in 3D applications. These kinds of devices are typically used in CAVEs, where input that registers 6DOF is required. A lifelike visual display is created by projectors positioned

outside the CAVE and controlled by physical movements from a user inside the CAVE. A

motion capture system records the real time position of the user. Stereoscopic LCD shutter glasses convey a 3D image. The computers rapidly generate a pair of images, one for each of the user's eyes, based on the motion capture data. The glasses are synchronized with the projectors so that each eye only sees the correct image. Since the projectors are positioned outside the cube, mirrors are often used to reduce the distance required from the projectors to the

screens. One or more computers drive the projectors. Clusters of desktop PCs are popular to run CAVEs, because they cost less and run faster.

Composite Devices
Input devices, such as buttons and joysticks, can be combined on a single physical device that could be thought of as a composite device. Many gaming devices have controllers like this. Technically mice are composite devices, as they both track movement and provide buttons for clicking, but composite devices are generally considered to have more than two different forms of input.

Imaging, Audio and Video Input Devices

Video input devices are used to digitize images or video from the outside world into the computer. The information can be stored in a multitude of formats depending on the user's requirement.
Their function is to encode images and videos digitally and stores them for later reproduction. Most cameras sold today are digital, and digital cameras are incorporated into many devices ranging from PDAs and mobile phones (called camera phones) to vehicles. A special mention on this group is Microsoft Kinect Sensor, a motion sensing input device by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game console and Windows PCs. Based around a webcam-style add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console, it enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller, through a natural user interface using gestures and spoken commands. In the fashion of video devices, audio devices are used to either capture or create sound.

Conclusion
Making this assignment, we agreed on the importance of having input devices in our digital life, and how they work and improve our ways of work without even noticing them. A big research investment in this area is making of this category one of the fastest growing on the market, and everyday a more advanced one in making an appearance to make our job easier to do, while providing a solid collection between the most important parts of the digital life: Technology and Human Beings.

Bibliography
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_devices>

Input Devices Computer Keyboard Pointing Devices CAVE

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_keyboard>

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_device>

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_Automatic_Virtual_Environment>

Digital Camera

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_camera>

Microsoft Kinect Sensor < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinect>

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