Computer Graphics

VIDEO DISPLAY DEVICES

I. CRT or Refresh CRT
1. A beam of electrons (cathode rays), emitted by an electron gun, passes through
focusing and deflection systems that direct the beam toward specified
positions on the phosphor coated screen.
2. The phosphor then emits a small spot of light at each position contacted by the
electron beam.
3. Because the light emitted by the phosphor fades very rapidly, some method is
needed for maintaining the screen picture. One way to keep the phosphor
glowing is to redraw the picture repeatedly by quickly directing the electron
beam back over the same points. This type of display is called a refresh CRT
4. The primary components of an electron gun in a CRT are the heated metal
cathode and a control grid
5. Heat is supplied to the cathode by directing a current through a coil of wire,
called the filament. This causes electrons to be 'boiled off" the hot cathode
surface
6. In the vacuum inside the CRT , the free, negatively charged electrons are then
accelerated toward the phosphor coating by a high positive voltage.
7. The accelerating voltage can be generated with a positively charged metal
coating on the inside of the CRT envelope near the phosphor screen, or an
accelerating anode can be used.
8. Intensity of the electron beam is controlled by setting voltage levels on the
control grid. A high negative voltage applied to the control grid will shut off the
beam by repelling electrons and stopping them from passing through the small
hole at the end of the control grid structure. A smaller negative voltage on the
control grid simply decreases the number of electrons passing through. Since
the amount of light emitted by the phosphor coating depends on the number of
electrons striking the screen, we control the brightness of a display by varying
the voltage on the control grid
9. The focusing system in a CRT is needed to force the electron beam to converge
into a small spot as it strikes the phosphor. Otherwise, the electrons would repel
each other, and the beam would spread out as it approaches the screen.
Focusing is accomplished with either electric or magnetic fields.
10.Electrostatic focusing is commonly used in television and computer graphics
monitors. With electrostatic focusing, the electron beam passes through a
positively charged metal cylinder that forms an electrostatic lens ( focus
towards center of the screen)
11.When the electrons in the beam collide with the phosphor coating, they are
stopped and their kinetic energy is absorbed by the phosphor. Part of the beam
energy is converted by friction into heat energy, and the remainder causes
electrons in the phosphor atoms to move up to higher quantum- energy levels.

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After a short time, the "excited phosphor electrons begin dropping back to their
stable ground state, giving up their extra energy as small quantums of Light
energy. What we see on the screen is the combined effect of all the electron
light emissions: a glowing spot that quickly fades after all the excited phosphor
electrons have returned to their ground energy level
12.Different kinds of phosphors are available for use in a CRT. Besides color, a
major difference between phosphors is their persistence: how long they
continue to emit light
13.A phosphor with low persistence is useful for animation; a high-persistence
phosphor is useful for displaying highly complex, static pictures.
14.The maximum number of points that can be displayed without overlap on a
CRT is referred to as the resolution. A more precise definition of resolution is
the number of points per centimeter that can be plotted horizontally and
vertically.
15.Resolution of a CRT is dependent on the type of phosphor, the intensity to be
displayed, and the focusing and deflection systems.
16.another property of video monitors are aspect ratio, the ratio of vertical points
to horizontal points necessary to produce equal-length lines in both directions
on the screen.

Basic design

Operation of an electron gun with an accelerating anode.

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Electrostatic deflection of the electron beam in a CRT.

Raster scan display

 The most common type of graphics monitor employing a CRT is the raster-scan
display, based on television technology.
 In a raster-scan system, the electron beam is swept across the screen, one row at
a time from top to bottom.
 As the electron beam moves across each row, the beam intensity is turned on
and off to create a pattern of illuminated spots.
 Picture definition is stored in a memory area called the refresh buffer or frame
buffer. This memory area holds the set of intensity values for all the screen
points.
 Stored intensity values are then retrieved from the refresh buffer and "painted"
on the screen one row (scan line) at a time.
 Each screen point is referred to as a pixel or pel (shortened form of picture
element).

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 The capability of a raster-scan system to store intensity information for each

screen point makes it well suited for the realistic display of scenes containing
subtle shading and color patterns.
 Home television sets and printers are examples of other systems using raster-
scan methods.
 In a simple black-and-white system, each screen point is either on or off, so
only one bit per pixel is needed to control the intensity of screen positions. For
a bi-level system, a bit value of 1 indicates that the electron beam is to be turned
on at that position, and a value of 0 indicates that the beam intensity is to be off.
 Additional bits are needed when color and intensity variations can be displayed.
Up to 24 bits per pixel are included in high-quality systems.
 On a black-and-white system with one bit per pixel, the frame buffer is
commonly called a bitmap. For systems with multiple bits per pixel, the frame
buffer is often referred to as a Pixmap
 At the end of each scan line, the electron beam returns to the left side of the
screen to begin displaying the next scan line. The return to the left of the screen,
after refreshing each scan line, is called the horizontal retrace of the electron
beam.
 And at the end of each frame the electron beam returns to the top left corner of
the screen to begin the next frame. This is called as vertical retrace.
 On some raster-scan systems (and in TV sets), each frame is displayed in two
passes using an interlaced refresh procedure. In this interlaced fashion: first the
odd-numbered scan lines, and then the even-numbered scan lines are displayed.
This allows for a lower refresh rate without producing flicker.

Random scan display

 Electron beam directed only to the parts of the screen where a picture is to be
drawn is called as random scan display. Random scan monitors draw a picture
one line at a time and for this reason are also referred to as vector displays (or
stroke-writing or calligraphic displays).
 The component lines of a picture can be drawn and refreshed by a random-scan
system in any specified order
 Refresh rate on a random-scan system depends on the number of lines to be
displayed. Picture definition stored as a set of line drawing commands in an
area of memory called as refresh display file. Sometimes the refresh display
file is called the display list, display program, or simply the refresh buffer.
 To display a specified picture, the system cycles through the set of commands
in the display file, drawing each component line in turn. After all line drawing
commands have been processed, the system cycles back to the first line
command in the list

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 Random-scan systems are designed for line drawing applications and cannot
display realistic shaded scenes

Difference Between Raster Scan System and Random Scan System.

Raster Scan System Random Scan System
It has poor or less Resolution because
It has High Resolution because it stores
Resolution picture definition is stored as a
picture definition as a set of line commands.
intensity value.
Electron Beam is directed from top to Electron Beam is directed to only that part
Electron- bottom and one row at a time on of screen where picture is required to be
Beam screen, but electron beam is directed to drawn, one line at a time so also called
whole screen. Vector Display.
It is less expensive than Random Scan
Cost It is Costlier than Raster Scan System.
System.
Refresh Rate depends on the number of
Refresh rate is 60 to 80 frame per
Refresh Rate lines to be displayed i.e 30 to 60 times per
second.
second.
Picture It Stores picture definition in Refresh It Stores picture definition as a set of line
Definition Buffer also called Frame Buffer. commands called Refresh Display File.
Line Zig – Zag line is produced because Smooth line is produced because directly
Drawing plotted value are discrete. the line path is followed by electron beam .
It contains shadow, advance shading It does not contain shadow and hidden
Realism in
and hidden surface technique so gives surface technique so it can not give realistic
display
the realistic display of scenes. display of scenes.
It is designed for line drawing applications
Image It uses Pixels along scan lines for
and uses various mathematical function to
Drawing drawing an image.
draw.

II. Color CRT Monitor

A CRT monitor displays color pictures, by using a combination of phosphors that
emit different colored light.
Two basic techniques for producing color displays:

1) Beam penetration
2) Shadow mask

Beam penetration method:

1. It can be used with random scan monitor
2. Two layers of phosphor, usually red and green coated inside of the CRT screen
3. Displayed color depends on how far the electron beam penetrates in to phosphor
layers.

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4. Slow electrons excite only the outer red layer.

5. Fast electrons penetrate through the red layer, and excites inner green layer.
6. An intermediate beam speeds, combinations of red and green lights are emitted
to show two additional colors, orange and yellow.
7. Speed of electron controlled by beam acceleration voltage.
8. This method is an inexpensive way to produce color in random scan monitor
9. But only 4 colors are possible in beam penetration method.

Shadow mask method:

1. Shadow-mask methods are commonly used in raster scan systems
2. they produce a much wider range of colors than the beam penetration method
3. Shadow-mask CRT has three phosphor color dots at each pixel position. One
phosphor dot emits a red light, another emits a green light, and the third emits a
blue light.
4. This type of CRT has three electron guns, one for each color dot, and a shadow-
mask grid just behind the phosphor-coated screen.
5. Delta-delta shadow-mask method is commonly used in color CRT systems.
6. The three electron beams are deflected and focused as a group onto the shadow
mask, which contains a series of holes aligned with the phosphor-dot patterns.
When the three beams pass through a hole in the shadow mask, they activate a
dot triangle, which appears as a small color spot on the screen.
7. The phosphor dots in the triangles are arranged so that each electron beam can
activate only its corresponding color dot when it passes through the shadow
mask.
8. Another configuration for the three electron guns is an in-line arrangement in
which the three electron guns, and the corresponding red-green-blue color dots
on the screen, are aligned along one scan line instead of in a triangular pattern.
This in-line arrangement of electron guns is easier to keep in alignment and is
commonly used in high-resolution color CRTs.
9. We obtain color variations in a shadow-mask CRT by varying the intensity
levels of the three electron beams. By turning off the red and green guns, we get
only the color coming from the blue phosphor.
10.A white (or gray) area is the result of activating all three dots with equal
intensity. Yellow is produced with the green and red dots only, magenta is
produced with the blue and red dots, and cyan shows up when blue and green
are activated equally.
11.Color CRTs in graphics systems are designed as RGB monitors. These monitors
use shadow-mask methods and take the intensity level for each electron gun
(red, green, and blue) directly from the computer system without any
intermediate processing.

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12.In low-cost systems, the electron beam can only be set to on or off, limiting
displays to eight colors.
13.More sophisticated systems can set intermediate intensity levels for the electron
beams, allowing several million different colors to be generated.

III. Direct-View Storage Tubes

1. A direct-view storage tube (DVST) stores the picture information as a charge

distribution just behind the phosphor-coated screen.
2. Two electron guns are used in a DVST. One, the primary gun, is used to store
the picture pattern; the second, the flood gun, maintains the picture display.
3. DVST has storage grid and collector.
4. When high speed electrons hit the storage grid it displaces the electrons creating
a positive charge. The purpose of storage grid is to store image info in the form
of charge distribution.
5. The displaced electrons are attracted towards the collector.
6. Now, the continuous flowing slow speed electrons from flood electron gun are
attracted to the positively charged regions of the storage grid.
7. They penetrate the storage grid and hit the phosphor coating in CRT generating
the output.
8. Here, the collector is used to control the flow of flood electrons.
9. Advantage: Because no refreshing is needed, very complex pictures can be
displayed at very high resolutions without flicker.
10.Disadvantages of DVST systems are that they ordinarily do not display color
and that selected parts of a picture cannot be erased. To eliminate a picture
section, the entire screen must be erased and the modified picture redrawn. The

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erasing and redrawing process can take several seconds for a complex picture.
For these reasons, storage displays have been largely replaced by raster
systems.

IV. Flat-Panel Displays

Flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume,
weight, and power requirements compared to a CRT. A significant feature of flat-
panel displays is that they are thinner than CRT.

We can separate flat-panel displays into two categories: emissive displays and
non-emissive displays. The emissive displays (or emitters) are devices that
convert electrical energy into light. Plasma panels, thin-film electroluminescent
displays, and Light-emitting diodes are examples of emissive displays. Non-
emissive displays (or non-emitters) use optical effects to convert sunlight or light
from some other source into graphics patterns.

EMISSIVE DISPLAYS
1. Plasma panels
Plasma panels, also called gas-discharge displays, are constructed by filling the
region between two glass plates with a mixture of gases that usually includes neon.
A series of vertical conducting ribbons is placed on one glass panel, and a set of
horizontal ribbons is built into the other glass panel. Firing voltages applied to a
pair of horizontal and vertical conductors cause the gas at the intersection of the
two conductors to break down into glowing plasma of electrons and ions. Picture
definition is stored in a refresh buffer, and the firing voltages are applied to refresh
the pixel positions 60 times per second. Alternating current methods are used to
provide faster application of the firing voltages, and thus brighter displays.

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One disadvantage of plasma panels has been that they were strictly
monochromatic devices

2. Thin-Film Electroluminescent displays

Thin-film electroluminescent displays are similar in construction to a plasma
panel. The difference is that the region between the glass plates is filled with a
phosphor, such as zinc sulfide doped with manganese, instead of a gas. When a
sufficiently high voltage is applied to a pair of crossing electrodes, the phosphor
becomes a conductor in the area of the intersection of the two electrodes. Electrical
energy is then absorbed by the manganese atoms, which then release the energy as
a spot of light similar to the glowing plasma effect in a plasma panel.
Electroluminescent displays require more power than plasma panels, and good
color and gray scale displays are hard to achieve.

3. Light-Emitting Diode (LED).

A matrix of diodes is arranged to form the pixel positions in the display, and
picture definition is stored in a refresh buffer. As in scan-line refreshing of a CRT,
information is read from the refresh buffer and converted to voltage levels that are
applied to the diodes to produce the light patterns in the display.

NON-EMISSIVE DISPLAYS
Liquid Crystal Display(LCD):
Liquid Crystal displays (LCDS) are commonly used in small systems, such as
calculators and portable laptop computers. These non-emissive devices produce a
picture by passing polarized light from the surroundings or from an internal light
source through a liquid-crystal material that can be aligned to either block or
transmit the light. The term liquid crystal refers to the fact that these compounds
have a crystalline arrangement of molecules, yet they flow like a liquid.

Flat-panel displays commonly use nematic (threadlike) liquid-crystal compounds

that tend to keep the long axes of the rod-shaped molecules aligned. A flat-panel
display can then be constructed with a nematic liquid crystal. Two glass plates,
each containing a light polarizer at right angles to the-other plate, sandwich the
liquid-crystal material. Rows of horizontal transparent conductors are built into one
glass plate, and columns of vertical conductors are put into the other plate. The
intersection of two conductors defines a pixel position. Polarized light passing
through the material is twisted so that it will pass through the opposite polarizer.
The light is then reflected back to the viewer. To turn off the pixel, we apply a
voltage to the two intersecting conductors to align the molecules so that the light is
not twisted. This type of flat-panel device is referred to as a passive-matrix LCD.
Picture definitions are stored in a refresh buffer, and the screen is refreshed at the

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rate of 60 frames per second. Another method for constructing LCD is to place a
transistor at each pixel location, using thin-film transistor technology. The
transistors are used to control the voltage at pixel locations and to prevent charge
from gradually leaking out of the liquid-crystal cells. These devices are called
active-matrix displays.

V. Three-Dimensional Viewing Devices

Graphics monitors for the display of three-dimensional scenes have been devised
using a technique that reflects a CRT image from a vibrating, flexible mirror. As
the varifocal mirror vibrates, it changes focal length. These vibrations are
synchronized with the display of an object on a CRT so that each point on the
object is reflected from the mirror into a spatial position corresponding to the
distance of that point from a specified viewing position. This allows us to walk
around an object or scene and view it from different sides. This system is also
capable of displaying two-dimensional cross-sectional "slices" of objects selected
at different depths. Ex: ultrasonography and CAT scan

VI. Stereoscopic and Virtual-Reality Systems

Another technique for representing three-dimensional objects is displaying
stereoscopic views. This method does not produce true three-dimensional images,
but it does provide a three-dimensional effect by presenting a different view to
each eye of an observer so that scenes do appear to have depth.

To obtain a stereoscopic projection, we first need to obtain two views of a scene

generated from. a viewing direction corresponding to each eye (left and right). We
can construct the two views as computer-generated scenes with different viewing
positions, or we can use a stereo camera pair to photograph some object or scene.

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When we simultaneous look at the left view with the left eye and the right view
with the right eye, the two views merge into a single image and we perceive a
scene with depth.One way to produce a stereoscopic effect is to display each of the
two views with a raster system on alternate refresh cycles. The screen is viewed
through glasses, with each lens designed to act as a rapidly alternating shutter that
is synchronized to block out one of the views.Stereoscopic glasses constructed
with liquid crystal shutters and an infrared emitter that synchronizes the glasses
with the views on the screen. Stereoscopic viewing is also a component in virtual-
reality systems, where users can step into a scene and interact with the
environment. A headset containing an optical system to generate the stereoscopic
views is commonly used in conjunction with interactive input devices to locate and
manipulate objects in the scene. A sensing system in the headset keeps track of
the viewer's position, so that the front and back of objects can be seen as the
viewer "walks through" and interacts with the display

VII. Raster Scan System

Interactive raster graphics systems typically employ several processing units. In
addition to the central processing unit, or CPU, a special-purpose processor, called
the video controller or display controller, is used to control the operation of the
display device.
Video controller
A fixed area of the system memory is reserved for the frame buffer, and the video
controller is given direct access to the frame-buffer memory.
Simple raster

Fixed portion of system memory reserved for frame buffer

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Two registers are used to store the coordinates of the screen pixels. Initially, the x
register is set to 0 and the y register is set to y max . The value stored in the frame
buffer for this pixel position is then retrieved and used to set the intensity of the
CRT beam. Then the x register is incremented by 1, and the process repeated for
the next pixel on the top scan line. This procedure is repeated for each pixel along
the scan line. After the last pixel on the top scan line has been processed, the x
register is reset to 0 and the y register is decremented by 1.

Operation of a video controller

Raster-Scan Display Processor

Display processor, sometimes referred to as a graphics controller or a display
coprocessor. The purpose of the display processor is to free the CPU. In addition to
the system memory, a separate display processor memory area can also be
provided.

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A major task of the display processor is digitizing a picture definition given in an

application program into a set of pixel-intensity values for storage in the frame
buffer. This digitization process is caIled scan conversion. In an effort to reduce
memory requirements in raster systems one way to do this is to store each scan line
as a set of integer pairs. One number of each pair indicates an intensity value, and
the second number specifies the number of adjacent pixels on the scan line that are
to have that intensity. This technique, called run-length encoding, can result in a
considerable saving in storage space. Another approach is to encode the raster as a
set of rectangular areas (cell encoding).

VIII. Random Scan System

An application program is input and stored in the system memory along with a
graphics package. Graphics commands in the application program are translated by
the graphics package into a display file stored in the system memory. This display
file is then accessed by the display processor to refresh the screen. The display
processor cycles through each command in the display file program once during
every refresh cycle. Sometimes the display processor in a random-scan system is
referred to as a display processing unit or a graphics controller.

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IX. Graphics Monitors & Workstations

Most graphics monitors today operate as raster scan displays. Graphics systems
range from small general-purpose computer systems with graphics capabilities to
sophisticated full color systems that are designed specifically for graphics
applications. Typical screen resolution is 1280 by 1024. High resolution 2560 by
2048. A multiscreen system called the MediaWall, provides a large "wall-sized
display area. MediaWall operates by splitting images into a number of Sections
and distributing the sections over an array of monitors or projectors using a
graphics adapter and satellite control units.

Many graphics workstations are configured with two monitors. One monitor can be
used to show all features of an object or scene, while the second monitor displays
the detail in some part of the picture.

INPUT DEVICES
1. Keyboards
An alphanumeric keyboard on a graphics system is used primarily as a device for
entering text strings. The keyboard is an efficient device for inputting such
nongraphic data as picture labels associated with a graphics display. Keyboards
can also be provided with features to facilitate entry of screen coordinates, menu
selections, or graphics functions. Cursor-control keys and function keys are
common features on general purpose keyboards. Function keys allow users to enter
frequently used operations in a single keystroke, and cursor-control keys can be
used to select displayed objects or coordinate positions by positioning the screen
cursor. Other types of cursor-positioning devices, such as a trackball or joystick,
are included on some keyboards. Additionally, a numeric keypad is, often included
on the keyboard for fast entry of numeric data. For specialized applications, input
to a graphics application may come from a set of buttons, dials, or switches that
select data values or customized graphics operations.

2. Mouse
A mouse is small hand-held box used to position the screen cursor. Wheels or
rollers on the bottom of the mouse can be used to record the amount and direction
of movement. Another method for detecting mouse motion is with an optical
sensor. For these systems, the mouse is moved over a special mouse pad that has a
grid of horizontal and vertical lines. The optical sensor detects movement across
the lines in the grid. Since a mouse can be picked up and put down at another
position without change in cursor movement, it is used for making relative changes
in the position of the screen cursor. One, two, or three buttons usually included on

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the top of the mouse for signaling the execution of some operation, such as
recording cursor position or invoking a function.
Z mouse has three buttons, a thumbwheel on the side, a trackball on the top,
and a standard mouse ball underneath. This design provides six degrees of freedom
to select spatial positions, rotations, and other parameters. With the Z mouse, we
can pick up an object, rotate it, and move it in any direction, or we can navigate
our viewing position and orientation through a three dimensional scene.
Applications of the Z mouse include virtual reality, CAD, and animation.
Wheels or rollers – ball mouse
Optical sensor – optical mouse
Z mouse – six degree freedom

3. Trackball and Spaceball

A trackball is a ball that can be rotated with the fingers or palm of the hand.
Potentiometers, attached to the ball, measure the amount and direction of rotation.
While a trackball is a two-dimensional positioning device, a Spaceball provides six
degrees of freedom. A Spaceball does not actually move. Strain gauges measure
the amount of pressure applied to the spaceball to provide input for spatial
positioning and orientation as the ball is pushed or pulled in various directions.
Spaceballs are used for three-dimensional positioning and selection operations in
virtual-reality systems, modeling, animation, CAD, and other applications.

4. Joysticks
A joystick consists of a small, vertical lever (called the stick) mounted on a base
that is used to steer the screen cursor around. Most joysticks select screen positions
with actual stick movement; others respond to pressure on the stick. Some
joysticks are mounted on a keyboard; others function as stand-alone units. The
distance that the stick is moved in any direction from its center position
corresponds to screen-cursor movement in that direction. Potentiometers mounted
at the base of the joystick measure the amount of movement, and springs return the
stick to the center position when it is released.
In another type of movable joystick, the stick is used to activate switches that cause
the screen cursor to move at a constant rate in the direction selected. Eight
switches, arranged in a circle, are sometimes provided, so that the stick can select
any one of eight directions for cursor movement.

5. Data Glove
A data glove that can be used to grasp a "virtual" object. The glove is constructed
with a series of sensors that detect hand and finger motions. Electromagnetic
coupling between transmitting antennas and receiving antennas is used to provide
information about the position and orientation of the hand. The transmitting and

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receiving antennas can each be structured as a set of three mutually perpendicular

coils, forming a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. Input from the
glove can be used to position or manipulate objects in a virtual scene. A two-
dimensional projection of the scene can be viewed on a video monitor, or a three-
dimensional projection can be viewed with a headset.

6. Digitizers
A common device for drawing, painting, or interactively selecting coordinate
positions on an object is a digitizer. These devices can be used to input coordinate
values in either a two-dimensional or a three-dimensional space. Typically, a
digitizer is used to scan over a drawing or object and to input a set of discrete
coordinate positions, which can be joined with straight-line segments to
approximate the curve or surface shapes. One type of digitizer is the graphics
tablet (also referred to as a data tablet), which is used to input two-dimensional
coordinates by activating a hand cursor or stylus at selected positions on a flat
surface.

A stylus is a pencil-shaped device that is pointed at positions on the tablet. This

allows an artist to produce different brush strokes with different pressures on the
tablet surface. Tablet size varies from 12 by 12 inches for desktop models to 44 by
60 inches or larger for floor models. Graphics tablets provide a highly accurate
method for selecting coordinate positions, with an accuracy that varies from about
0.2 mm on desktop models to about 0.05 mm or less on larger models.
Electromagnetic pulses are generated in sequence along the wires, and an electric
signal is induced in a wire coil in an activated stylus or hand cursor to record a
tablet position. Depending on the technology, signal strength, coded pulses, or
phase shifts can be used to determine the position on the tablet. Acoustic (or sonic)
tablets use sound waves to detect a stylus position. Either strip microphones or
point microphones can be used to detect the sound emitted by an electrical spark
from a stylus tip. The position of the stylus is calculated by timing the arrival of the
generated sound at the different microphone positions.

7. Image Scanners
Drawings, graphs, color and black-and-whte photos, or text can be stored for
computer processing with an image scanner by passing an optical scanning
mechanism over the information to be stored. The gradations of gray scale or color
are then recorded and stored in an array Once we have the internal representation
of a picture, we can apply transformations to rotate, scale, or crop the picture to a
particular screen area. We can also apply various image-processing methods to
modify the array representation of the picture. For scanned text input, various
editing operations can be performed on the stored documents.

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8. Touch Panels
Touch panels allow displayed objects or screen positions to be selected with the
touch of a finger. A typical application of touch panels is for the selection of
processing options that are represented with graphical icons. Some systems, such
as the plasma panels are designed with touch screens. Other systems can be
adapted for touch input by fitting a transparent device with a touch sensing
mechanism over the video monitor screen. Touch input can be recorded using
optical, electrical, or acoustical methods. Optical touch panels employ a line of
infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs) along one vertical edge and along one
horizontal edge of the frame. The opposite vertical and horizontal edges contain
light detectors. These detectors are used to record which beams are interrupted
when the panel is touched. The two crossing beams that are interrupted identify the
horizontal and vertical coordinates of the screen position selected.

An electrical touch panel is constructed with two transparent plates separated by a

small distance. One of the plates is coated with a conducting material, and the
other plate is coated with a resistive material. When the outer plate is touched, it is
forced into contact with the inner plate. This contact creates a voltage drop across
the resistive plate that is converted to the coordinate values of the selected screen
position.

In acoustical touch panels, high-frequency sound waves are generated in the

horizontal and vertical directions across a glass plate. Touching the screen causes
part of each wave to be reflected from the finger to the emitters. The screen
position at the point of contact is calculated from a measurement of the time
interval between the transmission of each wave and its reflection to the emitter.

9. Light Pens
Such pencil-shaped devices are used to select screen positions by detecting the
light coming from points on the CRT screen. They are sensitive to the short burst
of light emitted from the phosphor coating at the instant the electron beam strikes a
particular point. Other Light sources, such as the background light in the room, are
usually not detected by a light pen. An activated light pen, pointed at a spot on the
screen as the electron beam lights up that spot, generates an electrical pulse that
causes the coordinate position of the electron beam to be recorded.

10.Voice Systems
Speech recognizers are used in some graphics workstations as input devices to
accept voice commands. The voice-system input can be used to initiate graphics
operations or to enter data. These systems operate by matching an input against a

V. Jane Varamani Sulekha, Assistant Professor, Fatima College Page 17

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predefined dictionary of words and phrases. A dictionary is set up for a particular

operator by having, the operator speak the command words to be used into the
system. Each word is spoken several times, and the system analyzes the word and
establishes a frequency pattern for that word in the dictionary along with the
corresponding function to be performed. Later, when a voice command is given,
the system searches the dictionary for a frequency-pattern match. Voice input is
typically spoken into a microphone mounted on a headset.

V. Jane Varamani Sulekha, Assistant Professor, Fatima College Page 18