The Inventor of Touch Screen Technology

According to PC Magazine, a touch screen is, "a display screen that is
sensitive to the touch of a finger or stylus. Widely used on ATM machines,
retail point-of-sale terminals, car navigation systems, medical monitors and
industrial control panels, the touch screen became wildly popular on
handhelds after Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007."

The touch screen is one of the easiest to use and most intuitive of all
computer interfaces, a touch screen allows users to navigate a computer
system by touching icons or links on the screen.

How Touch Screen Technology Works

There are three components used in touch screen technology:

 The touch sensor is a panel with a touch responsive surface. Systems

are built based on different types of sensors: resistive (most common),
surface acoustic wave, and capacitive (most smartphones). However, in
general, sensors have an electrical current running through them and
touching the screen causes a voltage change. The voltage change
signals the location of the touching.
 The controller is the hardware that converts the voltage changes on the
sensor into signals the computer or another device can receive.
 Software tells the computer, smartphone, game device, etc, what's
happening on the sensor and the information coming from the
controller. Who's touching what where; and allows the computer or
smartphone to react accordingly.

Of course, the technology works in combination with a computer,

smartphone, or another type of device.

Resistive and Capacitive Explained

According to Malik Sharrieff, an eHow Contributor, "the resistive system is
comprised of five components, including the CRT (cathode ray tube) or screen
base, the glass panel, the resistive coating, a separator dot, a conductive cover
sheet and a durable top coating."

When a finger or stylus presses down on the top surface, the two metallic
layers become connected (they touch), the surface acts as a pair of voltage
dividers with connected outputs. This causes a change in the electrical

1
current. The pressure from your finger causes conductive and resistive layers
of circuitry to touch each other, changing the circuits' resistance, which
registers as a touch screen event that is sent to the computer controller for
processing.

Capacitive touch screens use a layer of capacitive material to hold an

electrical charge; touching the screen changes the amount of charge at a
specific point of contact.

History of Touch Screen Technology

1960s

Historians consider the first touch screen to be a capacitive touch screen

invented by E.A. Johnson at the Royal Radar Establishment, Malvern, UK,
around 1965 - 1967. The inventor published a full description of touch screen
technology for air traffic control in an article published in 1968.

1970s

In 1971, a "touch sensor" was developed by Doctor Sam Hurst (founder of

Elographics) while he was an instructor at the University of Kentucky. This
sensor called the "Elograph" was patented by The University of Kentucky
Research Foundation. The "Elograph" was not transparent like modern touch
screens, however, it was a significant milestone in touch screen technology.
The Elograph was selected by Industrial Research as one of the 100 Most
Significant New Technical Products of the Year 1973.

In 1974, the first true touch screen incorporating a transparent surface came
on the scene developed by Sam Hurst and Elographics. In 1977, Elographics
developed and patented a resistive touch screen technology, the most popular
touch screen technology in use today.

In 1977, Siemens Corporation financed an effort by Elographics to produce

the first curved glass touch sensor interface, which became the first device to
have the name "touch screen" attached to it. On February 24, 1994, the
company officially changed its name from Elographics to Elo TouchSystems.

Elographics Patents

 US3662105: Electrical Sensor Of Plane Coordinates

Inventor(s)Hurst; George S., Lexington, KY - Parks; James E.,
Lexington, KYIssued/Filed Dates:May 9, 1972 / May 21, 1970

2
  US3798370: Electrographic Sensor For Determining Planar
Coordinates
Inventor(s)Hurst; George S., Oak Ridge, TNIssued/Filed Dates:March
19, 1974 / April 17, 1972

1980s

In 1983, the computer manufacturing company, Hewlett-Packard introduced

the HP-150, a home computer with touch screen technology. The HP-150 had
a built-in a grid of infrared beams across the front of the monitor which
detected finger movements. However, the infrared sensors would collect dust
and require frequent cleanings.

1990s

The nineties introduced smartphones and handhelds with touch screen

technology. In 1993, Apple released the Newton PDA, equipped with
handwriting recognition; and IBM released the first smartphone called
Simon, which featured a calendar, notepad, and fax function, and a touch
screen interface that allowed users to dial phone numbers. In 1996, Palm
entered the PDA market and advanced touch screen technology with its Pilot
series.

2000s

In 2002, Microsoft introduced the Windows XP Tablet edition and started its

entry into touch technology. However, you could say that the increase in the
popularity of touch screen smart phones defined the 2000s. In 2007, Apple
introduced the king of smartphones, the iPhone, with nothing but touch
screen technology.