Who invented touch

But their inclusion in the series paralleled the advancements in the technology world, and by the late s, touchscreens finally appeared to be realistic enough that consumers could actually employ the technology into their own homes. This article is the first of a three-part series on touchscreen technology's journey to fact from fiction. The first three decades of touch are important to reflect upon in order to really appreciate the multitouch technology we're so used to having today.

Today, we'll look at when these technologies first arose and who introduced them, plus we'll discuss several other pioneers who played a big role in advancing touch.

Future entries in this series will study how the changes in touch displays led to essential devices for our lives today and where the technology might take us in the future.

But first, let's put finger to screen and travel to the s. Historians generally consider the first finger-driven touchscreen to have been invented by E. The piece featured a diagram describing a type of touchscreen mechanism that many smartphones use today—what we now know as capacitive touch.

Two years later, Johnson further expounded on the technology with photographs and diagrams in "Touch Displays: A Programmed Man-Machine Interface," published in Ergonomics in A capacitive touchscreen panel uses an insulator, like glass, that is coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide ITO.

The "conductive" part is usually a human finger, which makes for a fine electrical conductor. Johnson's initial technology could only process one touch at a time, and what we'd describe today as "multitouch" was still somewhat a ways away. The invention was also binary in its interpretation of touch—the interface registered contact or it didn't register contact.

Pressure sensitivity would arrive much later. Even without the extra features, the early touch interface idea had some takers. Johnson's discovery was eventually adopted by air traffic controllers in the UK and remained in use until the late s.

Although capacitive touchscreens were designed first, they were eclipsed in the early years of touch by resistive touchscreens. In , the original iPhone was released and revolutionized the phone industry, featuring a touchscreen instead of a physical dialing pad. Smartphones became the number one device in communications and with them, this new style of input. The iPhone's touchscreen can change between a dialing pad, a keyboard, a video, a game, or a myriad of other apps.

This was leaps and bounds ahead of the previous leader in phone technology, the BlackBerry, which featured a full physical keyboard. Remember, it was so popular that it was called the "crackberry" — it doesn't even compare to the addictiveness of smartphones today! The iPhone brought with it a capacitive touchscreen that included a brand-new feature for the consumer market: multi-touch. Apple claims it invented the technology, but in reality they purchased FingerWorks to assist in iPhone development and only popularized it.

The multi-touch capabilities of the new smartphone added more functions than those found in single-touch devices. This is why Apple decided to use the more expensive capacitive screen. However, it relies on the electrical charge of human skin and cannot be used with a glove or a normal stylus. The Apple iPad was released in , creating another market for touchscreen devices. The first truly mainstream tablet was apparently worked on before iPhone, and its release touches on a speech made in by Steve Jobs: "What we want to do is we want to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you and learn how to use in 20 minutes Not only are most of our phones equipped with touchscreens, but our portable computers are too.

Now that touchscreens are in the public consciousness, more and more businesses are using them to for connecting with customers. The easy-to-use design of tablets makes them perfect for featuring digital catalogs or self-checkout areas. Companies also bring them to trade shows, showing their portfolio to passersby that can browse at their own pace. Large touchscreen stands are another great promotional tool for businesses. These kiosks provide a large area that allow customers to browse through products, menu items, maps and more.

These customizable digital displays make it easy for anyone to navigate through a business's presentation. The stands support up to ten points of contact and wireless connectivity, allowing companies to feature almost anything they want.

We've come so far in creating new ways to interact with computers, what could possibly come next? One new development is right around the corner: flexible smartphones. Samsung has featured prototypes since of devices with a bending screen and there have been successive rumors over the years about an impending release. This design would be great for smartphones, which are often damaged from minor bends. However, it's difficult keeping all the different parts of the device in contact with each other when the case flexes.

Samsung believes it will have the first flexible smartphone out in , but the technology is still unproven. Why limit the touch display to the device? Why not project the touchscreen onto any surface? OmniTouch attempts to accomplish this by with a projector that puts the display on walls, tables, books, and even on human skin while a camera detects the input. Imagine answering a text on your arm rather than having to pull out your phone! The model showed in by Chris Harringon was a shoulder-mounted wearable computer.

The "always-available" surface has not seen much development in recent years, but it might make a comeback when technology catches up. After all, it took 24 years after the first smartphone was released before they became popular!

What if we could feel the screen when we touch it? A touchscreen with advanced haptic technology could change to feel like different textures or feature physical bumps as buttons. This was demonstrated by Tanvas at the Consumer Electronics Show in , featuring different types of fabric.

Reporters say that the screen didn't magically feel like these textures, but they could definitely feel the difference between them. In time this could be one of the many features incorporated into smartphones! Put touch controls anywhere without being limited to a physical surface.

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