Capacitive Touchscreens: How They Work and the Benefits They Offer
Capacitive touchscreens are found just about everywhere. Research, in fact, shows that over 90% of all touchscreen devices produced and sold globally now use capacitive technology. Smartphones, tablets, human machine interfaces (HMIs), point-of-sale (POS) systems, monitors and many other touchscreen devices now use capacitive technology. What are capacitive touchscreens exactly, and what benefits do they offer?
What Are Capacitive Touchscreens?
Capacitive touchscreens are touch-controlled electronic devices that detect touch commands by measuring an electrical charge. When turned on, they'll emit an electrical charge that runs across the top layer of the interface. It won't necessarily shock you. Rather, the electrical charge is small enough so that it doesn't cause any noticeable shock. Nonetheless, capacitive touchscreens use this electrical charge to detect commands.
Performing a touch command on a capacitive touchscreen will change its electrical charge. Assuming you perform a touch command with a conductive object, such as a bare finger, the electrical current will change. Conductive objects are those through which electricity can easily flow. Upon placing a conductive object against the interface, some of the capacitive touchscreen's electrical charge will travel to that object. The capacitive touchscreen will then register this change as a touch command.
