What's the Difference Between Resistive and Capacitive ...

Smartphones and tablets have made touch-enabled interfaces an integral part of our lives, with touch rapidly becoming the user interface of choice across most applications and industries.  A simple touch-based interface is no longer a key differentiating feature for high-end applications, though, and increasing competition between OEMs is driving down prices. Touchscreen systems represent one of the more expensive modules in portable applications, and they need to be designed in at a lower cost while still providing a high level of functionality.

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Most touchscreens implement either resistive or projected-capacitance touch technology. Resistive touchscreens, which allow both finger and non-finger input (e.g., glove, stylus), are used in feature phones, global positioning systems (GPS), printers, digital cameras, and larger displays. They generally support single-finger touch and basic gestures, and cost less to produce.

On the other hand, projected-capacitance touchscreens, having superior multi-touch performance, durability, and optical clarity, are usually adopted into smartphones and tablets. However, projected-capacitance touchscsreens are now displacing resistive touch in most small- and medium-sized touchscreen devices, too. Moreover, increasing innovation in projected-capacitance touch, such as integrated stack-ups, has allowed it to be more price-competitive while surpassing resistive touch in performance.

Market Value

The primary value proposition of resistive touchscreens is that they are low cost to manufacture. Although resistive-touch performance is usually limited to basic single-finger touches and gestures, it still serves a wide user base. Resistive touchscreens can be found in automotive, medical, and industrial equipment, and of course, point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

Resistive touchscreens also continue to dominate applications that require touchscreens greater than 10 inches, since costs for projected-capacitance technologies rise exponentially with screen size. Furthermore, some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) continue to employ resistive touchscreens in feature phones, GPS, digital still cameras, and printers with the aim to keep costs low in markets experiencing severe price competition.

In contrast, projected-capacitance touchscreens offer high performance in accuracy, power consumption, and refresh rate. They also feature excellent optical transmissivity (greater than 90%), resulting in brighter, clearer displays. Unlike resistive touchscreens, projected capacitance is durable, scratch-resistant, free of aging symptoms, and needs no calibration.

Projected capacitance can also support multi-finger touch input and gestures, enabling significant improvements to the user interface. Popular gestures such as two-finger pinch and zoom let users zoom in or out on an image. With multi-touch, OEMs are able to develop custom gestures, which add value for end users and can be promoted as product differentiators.

Touchscreen technology

A Palm Centro, an example of a smartphone with a resistive touchscreen.[1] The Nintendo DS, an example of a handheld game console with a resistive touchscreen.

A resistive touchscreen is a type of touch-sensitive display that works by detecting pressure applied to the screen.[2] It is composed of two flexible sheets coated with a resistive material and separated by an air gap or microdots.[3]

Description and operation

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There are two different types of metallic layers. The first type is called matrix, in which striped electrodes on substrates such as glass or plastic face each other. The second type is called analogue which consists of transparent electrodes without any patterning facing each other. As of analogue offered lowered production costs.[citation needed] When contact is made to the surface of the touchscreen, the two sheets are pressed together. On these two sheets there are horizontal and vertical lines that, when pushed together, register the precise location of the touch. Because the touchscreen senses input from contact with nearly any object (finger, stylus/pen, palm) resistive touchscreens are a type of "passive" technology.

For example, during the operation of a four-wire touchscreen, a uniform, unidirectional voltage gradient is applied to the first sheet. When the two sheets are pressed together, the second sheet measures the voltage as distance along with the first sheet, providing the X coordinate. When this contact coordinate has been acquired, the voltage gradient is applied to the second sheet to ascertain the Y coordinate. These operations occur within a few milliseconds,[4][5] registering the exact touch location as contact is made, provided the screen has been properly calibrated for variations in resistivity.[6]

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Resistive touchscreens can have high resolution ( x or higher), providing accurate touch control. Because the touchscreen responds to pressure on its surface, contact can be made with a finger or any other pointing device.[citation needed]

Comparison with other touchscreen technology

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Resistive touchscreen technology works well with almost any stylus-like object, and can also be operated with gloved fingers and bare fingers alike. In some circumstances, this is more desirable than a capacitive touchscreen, which needs a capacitive pointer, such as a bare finger (though some capacitive sensors can detect gloves and some gloves can work with all capacitive screens). A resistive touchscreen operated with a stylus will generally offer greater pointing precision than a capacitive touchscreen operated with a finger. Costs are relatively low when compared with active touchscreen technologies, but are also more prone to damage.[7] Resistive touchscreen technology can be made to support multi-touch input. Single-touch screens register multiple touch inputs in their balanced location and pressure levels.[8]

For people who must grip the active portion of the screen or must set their entire hand down on the screen, alternative touchscreen technologies are available, such as an active touchscreen in which only the stylus creates input and skin touches are rejected. However, newer touchscreen technologies allow the use of multi-touch without the aforementioned vectoring issues.[8]

Where conditions allow bare finger operation, the resistive screen's poorer responsiveness to light touches has caused it to generally be considered for use with low resolution screens and to lose market share to capacitive screens in the 21st century.[9] Projected capacitive touchscreen technology overtook resistive touchscreen technology in revenue in and in units in .[10]

See also

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References

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