What are the input devices of my computer?

Every computer comes with a keyboard and

a mouse (touchpad with laptop), which are considered
input devices. As far as other input devices, it depends
on what was included with your computer and what is
attached to it. The best method of determining all of the
input devices your computer has is to go through the list
above.

What does an input device send to a computer?

What an input device sends (inputs) to a computer
depends on the device. Additionally, all input devices
send data from the device over a cable or wireless
transmission to the computer. For example, as you
move a computer mouse, the data it sends to the
computer is the X-Y axis movements that the computer
uses to display the mouse cursor on the screen. You can
see a live example of this on our x-axis definition.

Why does a computer need an input device?

Today, input devices are important because they are
what allow you to interact with and add new
information to a computer. For example, if a computer
had no input devices, it could run by itself but there
would be no way to change its settings, fix errors, or
other various user interactions. Also, if you wanted to
add new information to the computer (e.g., text,
command, document, picture, etc.), you wouldn't be
able to do so without an input device.

Following are some of the important input devices which are used in a computer −

 Keyboard

 Mouse

 Joy Stick

 Light pen

 Track Ball

 Scanner

 Graphic Tablet

 Microphone

 Magnetic Ink Card Reader(MICR)

 Optical Character Reader(OCR)

 Bar Code Reader

 Optical Mark Reader(OMR)

Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps to input data to the
computer. The layout of the keyboard is like that of traditional typewriter, although there are
some additional keys provided for performing additional functions.
Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys or 108
keys are also available for Windows and Internet.

The keys on the keyboard are as follows −

S.No Keys & Description

Typing Keys
1
These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (09) which generally give the same
layout as that of typewriters.

Numeric Keypad

It is used to enter the numeric data or cursor movement. Generally, it consists of a set of 17
2
keys that are laid out in the same configuration used by most adding machines and
calculators.

Function Keys

The twelve function keys are present on the keyboard which are arranged in a row at the top
3
of the keyboard. Each function key has a unique meaning and is used for some specific
purpose.

Control keys
4
These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includes four directional arrow keys. Control
 keys also include Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down, Control(Ctrl), Alternate(Alt),
Escape(Esc).

Special Purpose Keys

5 Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Enter, Shift, Caps Lock, Num Lock,
Space bar, Tab, and Print Screen.

Mouse
Mouse is the most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control device having a
small palm size box with a round ball at its base, which senses the movement of the mouse
and sends corresponding signals to the CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed.

Generally, it has two buttons called the left and the right button and a wheel is present
between the buttons. A mouse can be used to control the position of the cursor on the screen,
but it cannot be used to enter text into the computer.

Advantages

 Easy to use

 Not very expensive

 Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys of the keyboard.

Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to move the cursor position on a monitor
screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The lower spherical
ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be moved in all four directions.
The function of the joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in Computer Aided
Designing (CAD) and playing computer games.

Light Pen
Light pen is a pointing device similar to a pen. It 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.

When the tip of a light pen is moved over the monitor screen and the pen button is pressed,
its photocell sensing element detects the screen location and sends the corresponding signal
to the CPU.

Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop computer, instead of a
mouse. This is a ball which is half inserted and by moving fingers on the ball, the pointer can
be moved.
Since the whole device is not moved, a track ball requires less space than a mouse. A track ball
comes in various shapes like a ball, a button, or a square.

Scanner
Scanner is an input device, which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used when some
information is available on paper and it is to be transferred to the hard disk of the computer
for further manipulation.

Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into a digital form that can
be stored on the disk. These images can be edited before they are printed.

Digitizer
Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital form. Digitizer can
convert a signal from the television or camera into a series of numbers that could be stored in
a computer. They can be used by the computer to create a picture of whatever the camera
had been pointed at.

Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet as it converts graphics and pictorial data
into binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is used for fine works of drawing and image
manipulation applications.

Microphone
Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in a digital form.

The microphone is used for various applications such as adding sound to a multimedia
presentation or for mixing music.

Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

MICR input device is generally used in banks as there are large number of cheques to be
processed every day. The bank's code number and cheque number are printed on the cheques
with a special type of ink that contains particles of magnetic material that are machine
readable.

This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). The main advantages
of MICR is that it is fast and less error prone.

Optical Character Reader (OCR)

OCR is an input device used to read a printed text.

OCR scans the text optically, character by character, converts them into a machine readable
code, and stores the text on the system memory.

Bar Code Readers

Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in the form of light and dark
lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods, numbering the books, etc. It may be
a handheld scanner or may be embedded in a stationary scanner.

Bar Code Reader scans a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric value, which is then
fed to the computer that the bar code reader is connected to.

Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark made by pen or
pencil. It is used where one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and marked.

It is specially used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having multiple choice
questions.

Helping Material
Audio conversion device
There are different types of audio conversion devices available, but they each
perform relatively the same function. They are designed to convert audio of
various formats into a digital format for use on a computer. The most common
types of audio conversion devices include cassette tape to MP3, LP record to MP3
and audio CDto MP3.
Audio conversion devices are basically either a cassette
tape player, LP record player, or CD player with a
connection to a USB port on a computer. The software
included with the device records the audio playback
from the audio media and converts it to MP3 format.
Some devices allow for recording to other audio formats
besides MP3. There are multiple companies that build
and sell these devices, including DB Tech, Ion, and
Jensen.

Biometrics
Updated: 02/27/2019 by Computer Hope
When referring to computers and security, biometrics is the
identification of a person by the measurement of their
biological features. For example, a user identifying
themselves to a computer or building by their fingerprint or
voice is considered a biometrics identification. When
compared to a password, this type of system is much more
difficult to fake since it is unique to the person. Other
common methods of a biometrics scan are a person's face,
hand, iris, and retina.

Types of input devices

 Audio conversion device

 Barcode reader

 Biometrics (e.g., fingerprint scanner).

 Business card reader

 Digital camera and digital camcorder.

 EEG (electroencephalography)

 Finger (with touch screen or Windows Touch).

 Gamepad, joystick, paddle, steering wheel,

and Microsoft Kinect.

 Gesture recognition

 Graphics tablet

 Keyboard

 Light gun

 Light pen

 Magnetic ink (like the ink found on checks).

 Magnetic stripe reader

 Medical imaging devices (e.g., X-ray, CAT scan, and

ultrasound images).

 Microphone (using voice speech

recognition or biometric verification).

 MIDI keyboard

 MICR

 Mouse, touchpad, or other pointing devices.

 OMR (optical mark reader)

 Paddle

 Pen or stylus

 Punch card reader

 Remote

 Scanner

 Sensors (e.g., heat and orientation sensors).

 Sonar imaging devices

 Stylus (with touch screen).

 Touch screen

 Voice (using voice speech recognition or biometric

verification).

 Video capture device

 VR helmet and gloves

 Webcam
  Yoke

Types of biometric devices

Below is a listing of all known biometric devices that
may be used to input biometric data into a computer.

 Face scanner - Biometric face scanners identify a person

by taking measurements of a person's face. For

example, the distance between the person's chin, eyes

(interpupillary distance), nose, and mouth. These types

of scanners can be very secure assuming they are smart

enough to distinguish between a picture of a person

and a real person. See our facial recognition page for

further information on this term.

 Hand scanner - Like your fingerprint, the palm of your

hand is also unique to you. A biometric hand scanner

will identify the person by the palm of their hand.

 Finger scanner - Like the picture shown on this page, a

biometric finger scanner identifies the person by their

fingerprint. These can be a secure method of identifying

a person. However, cheap and less sophisticated

fingerprint scanners can be duped several ways. For

 example, in the show Myth Busters, they were able to

fake a fingerprint using a Gummy Bear candy treat.

 Retina or iris scanner - A biometric retina or iris scanner

identifies a person by scanning the iris or retina of their

eyes. These scanners are more secure biometric

authentication schemes when compared to the other

devices because there is no known way to duplicate the

retina or iris.

 Vein recognition - A biometric scan of a person's veins in

the user's finger or palm. See our vein recognition page

for further information.

 Voice scanner - Finally, a voice analysis scanner will

mathematically break down a person's voice to identify

them. These scanners can help improve security but

with some less sophisticated scanners can be bypassed

using a tape recording.