Can You Wear Gloves While Using a SAW Touchscreen?

Do you regularly wear gloves? Maybe you wear them to protect your hands from contaminants in the workplace, or perhaps you wear them to keep your hands warm. Regardless, you might be wondering whether you wear gloves while using a surface acoustic wave (SAW) touchscreen.

Touchscreens often require direct contact with a conductive object to trigger a touch command. Capacitive touchscreens, for instance, live up to their namesake by measuring capacitance. They project a uniform electrostatic field across the display interface. Assuming you touch the display interface with a conductive object, such as a bare finger, it will register a touch command. So, can you wear gloves while using a SAW touchscreen?

The Basics of SAW Touchscreens and How They Work

SAW touchscreens are defined by their use of sound waves. When turned on, they'll project sound waves across the surface of the display interface. You won't be able to hear these sound waves. Nonetheless, all SAW touchscreens project sound waves, which is how they identify touch commands.

Performing a touch command on a SAW touchscreen will disrupt some of its sound waves. SAW touchscreens have sound wave emitters as well as receivers. Upon performing a touch command, your finger will block the sound waves in the respective area of your command. The sensors will recognize this disruption, thereby allowing the SAW touchscreen to identify your touch command.