CHAPTER – 2

TYPES
OF
HARDWARE
PA RT - 2
CONTENTS
• INPUT DEVICES
➢ Keyboard
➢ Mouse
➢ Microphone
➢ Scanner
➢ Concept Keyboard
➢ Touch Screens
➢ Barcode Reader
➢ Magnetic Stripe Reader
➢ OMR
➢ OCR
➢ MICR
➢ Light Pen
➢ Joystick
➢ Web Camera(Webcam)
➢ Digital Camera(Digicam)
INPUT DEVICES
The input unit is responsible for accepting input i.e. , data and instructions from the user. This
work is accomplished with the help of input devices. A device in general refers to any electronic
equipment. A device that lets you enter data or instructions in a computer is known as an input
device
Let us learn about some of the most common input devices :
 KEYBOARD
A keyboard is defined as the set of typewriter-like keys that enables you to enter data (letter, digits and
commands) into a computer. Each key when pressed , sends a digital code to the computer that
determines which key has been pressed.
The keyboard that we use is also known as QWERTY keyboard because the first six typing keys on the
top row of letters spell QWERTY. The QWERTY keyboard was designed in the 1800s for mechanical
typewriters and was actually designed to slow typists down to avoid jamming the keys on mechanical
units.
There are two major types of computer keyboards: Basic and Extended. The
Basic keyboard contains 104 keys and is enough to perform all the functions that can be done on a
Windows PC. The Extended keyboard may have additional keys, and the design varies among the
companies manufacturing them.
 MOUSE
• A computer mouse is a handheld hardware input device that controls a cursor in a GUI
(graphical user interface) and can move and select text, icons, files, and folders on your
computer. For desktop computers, the mouse is placed on a flat surface (e.g., mouse pad or
desk) in front of your computer.
• The name “mouse”, was coined at the Stanford Research Institute, derives from the
resemblance of early models (which had a cord attached to the rear part of the device,
suggesting the idea of a tail) to the common small rodent of the same name.
• The picture is an example of a desktop computer mouse with two buttons and a wheel.
The following are the different types of mouse :
➢ Mechanical Mouse : Refers to a mouse in which the movement of cursor on
the screen is relative to the movement of the ball at the base of the mouse. To
use the mechanical mouse efficiently you need a flat surface or mouse pad.

➢ Optical Mouse : Refers to a mouse that uses a Light Emitting Diode (LED) to
detect the movement of cursor on the screen. This type of mouse does not
work on a black or shiny surface.

➢ Laser Mouse : This type of mouse uses infrared laser diode for detecting the
mouse movement.

➢ Blue Track Mouse : This type of mouse is based on the Blue Track
technology.The technology, introduced by Microsoft, states that the device can
work on any surface from a granite countertop to the carpet.
MICROPHONE
• A microphone is an input device that captures audio or sound and converts
it into computer’s format, which is called digitized sound or digital audio.
• A mic can work if your computer has a special hardware known as sound card.
SCANNER
• A scanner is an input device that scans documents such as photographs and pages of text.
When a document is scanned, it is converted into a digital format This creates an electronic
version of the document that can be viewed and edited on a computer. A scanner may be used
to convert a printed picture, drawing, or document (hard copy) into a digital file which can be
edited on a computer.
• Different types of scanners are available with different resolutions. In the world of electronic
data transmission, scanning is considered to be the most cost-effective and reliable way of
transmitting images.
TYPES OF SCANNER
Different types of scanners are as follows :
➢ Hand – held Scanner : It is a small hand-held scanning device that is used to convert text
or image available on a page into the digital format. The hand-held scanner is not suitable to
scan a lengthy file. Its features are :
❖Less expensive
❖More handy
❖Requires more pass per scan (pass per scan means the number of movements of scanner
on a document)
➢ Flatbed Scanner : It is a flat surface scanner on which you can put documents to be
scanned. These are larger and more expensive scanners but they definitely create higher
quality images. Its features are :
❖ Produces high quality images
❖ More expensive
❖ Requires a single pass per scan
❖ Has a flat surface
➢ Drum Scanner : It is a medium sized scanner which has a rolling drum
to scan your document.You feed the document in the scanner and the
drum rolls over the entire document to scan it. Its features are :
❖ Medium size
❖ While scanning , a drum rolls over the image
CONCEPT KEYBOARD
A concept keyboard is a flat board that contains a grid of buttons. Each button can be
programmed to do whatever you want. An overlay sheet with pictures or symbols is placed on
the grid so that the user can tell what pressing on different areas will do. Thus, on this keyboard
the keys have a specific dedicated function. It relies on a touch sensitive screen with the key or
overlay displayed on the screen. Each key can be programmed with a wide range of different
functions. These keyboards are used when fast input is needed and are ideally suited to selecting
from a limited range of choices such as fast food restaurants where there is a key for each
different food item that might be bought.. Checkout tills such as McDonalds use symbols to make
ordering faster and easier.
TOUCH SCREENS
A touch screen is a display device that allows the user to interact with a computer by using
their finger or stylus. The screens are sensitive to pressure; a user interacts with the computer
by touching pictures or words on the screen. Touch screens are used on a variety of devices,
such as computer and laptop displays, smartphones, tablets, ATM machines, video games, PDAs
etc.
A touch screen is the only device which works as both an input and an output device. You
view the options available to you on the screen (output) and you then use your finger
to touch the option that you have chosen (input).
BARCODE READER
A barcode reader, also called a price scanner or point-of-sale ( POS ) scanner, is a hand-held or
stationary input device used to capture and read information contained in a bar code .
A barcode is an encoded image, usually displayed with black and white lines of varying width
that contains vital information easily readable by a machine. Barcodes provide a method to
track and store information about goods, from individual items to large stocks of thousands or
even millions of items. They serve an important role and provide advantages compared with
manually entering information.
MAGNETIC STRIPE READER
A magnetic stripe reader is a device designed to read the information stored
within the magnetic stripe of special cards such as security cards of Hotel rooms
to gain access to rooms, credit cards and ATM cards etc. The magnetic stripe is
usually located on the back of the card or badge and contains the account details
of the person who owns the card. This information is then verified in real time
with the issuer of the card.
OMR (OPTICAL MARK RECOGNITION)
OMR stands for Optical Mark Recognition. This popular recognition technology
is used for collecting data from “fill-in-the-bubble” forms such as educational
tests, surveys, assessments, evaluations, and many other multiple choice
forms. OMR has been widely used in education since the 1960s and is still
popular today.
OCR (OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION)
OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is a widespread technology to recognize text
inside images, such as scanned documents and photos. OCR technology is used to convert
virtually any kind of images containing written text (typed, handwritten or printed) into machine-
readable text data.
Probably the most well known use for OCR is converting printed paper documents into
machine-readable text documents. Once a scanned paper document went
through OCR processing, the text of the document can be edited with word processors like
Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
MICR (MAGNETIC INK CHARACTER RECOGNITION)
• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition is a character recognition system that uses special ink
and characters. When a document that contains this ink needs to be read, it passes through a
machine, which magnetizes the ink and then translates the magnetic information into
characters.
• MICR technology is used by banks. Numbers and characters found on the bottom of cheques
(usually containing the check number, sort number, and account number) are printed using
Magnetic Ink.
• MICR provides a secure, high-speed method of scanning and processing information.
LIGHT PEN
Light Pen (similar to the pen) is a pointing device which is used to select a displayed menu item
or draw pictures on the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an optical system placed in
a small tube.
It is an input device that utilizes a light-sensitive detector to select objects on a display screen. A
light pen is similar to a mouse, except that with a light pen you can move the pointer and select
objects on the display screen by directly pointing to the objects with the pen.
Thus, it is a handheld photosensitive device resembling a pen, held to the display screen of a
computer terminal for passing information to the computer.
JOYSTICK
A joystick is an input device commonly used to control the movement of the
cursor or other graphic elements in video games. Joysticks consist of a base and
a stick that can be moved in any direction. The stick can be moved slowly or
quickly and in different amounts. Because of the flexible movements a joystick
allows, it can provide much greater control than the keys on a keyboard.
WEB CAMERA (WEBCAM)
A web camera or a webcam is a video camera that feeds or streams an image or video in real time to or
through a computer to a computer network, such as the Internet. Webcams are typically small cameras that sit
on a desk, attach to a user's monitor, or are built into the hardware. Webcams can be used during a video chat
session involving two or more people, with conversations that include live audio and video.
Web cameras are a magnificent choice for people who want to share information via the Internet. It's main role
is to show a video with sound from one computer onto another computer. This allows people in any situation
to converse over the web however they want. Web cameras are made in different sizes and shapes. Some web
cameras are built inside a computer and some are round in shape with a camera in the center. Any web camera,
as long as its not built in can be placed anywhere and used whenever it is plugged into a system that allows web
camera usage.
Web camera is nothing more than a camera that can record data and send it out, while receiving it
simultaneously . It also can transfer data instantly allowing multiple people to use a web camera at the same
time together.
DIGITAL CAMERA (DIGICAM)
A digital camera is an input device that is used to capture pictures and record
videos. Digital photography uses a combination of advanced image sensor
technology and memory storage which allows images to be captured in a digital
format. It is a camera that stores pictures in electronic memory instead of film
used in the film cameras. Unlike film cameras, digital cameras can display images
on a screen immediately after being recorded, and store and delete images from
memory. Many digital cameras can also record moving videos with sound.
Most digital cameras can use a USB cable that connects into a computer to send
pictures that are in the camera to the computer.