Chapter 5

Input and Output devices

Input and output devices are very
important for computers, without
them, computers will not be as
functional.
 Input devices:
• scanners-scans data from a flat surface
• barcode readers- scans the code and identify
its data
• digital cameras- capture and record images
• Keyboards- types letters into the computer.
• microphones- creates louder noise using a
loudspeaker connecting to it.
2 Dimensional Scanners
These types of scanners are the most common
scanners used to input hard-copy (paper)
documents. The scanned image can be converted
into an electronic form and stored in the
computer. If a computer has Optical Character
Recognition or the OCR software allow the
scanned text to be converted into a text file which
can be edited in the future. If the original
document is an image, the scanned image will be
stored as a Jpeg file.
3 Dimensional Scanners
These scanners scan solid objects and produce
a 3 dimensional image. This means that there
must be x, y, and z coordinates which the
scanner will take several images along each
coordinates. There are numerous technologies
used in 3D scanners: Lasers, Magnetic
resonance, white light and many more.
2D Scanners at an airport
OCR technology is used here to represent
passport pages. At many airports the passenger’s
face is photographed and sent to face
recognition and detection software. Key parts of
the face are compared using these rules:
• distance between the eyes
• width of the nose
• shape of the cheek bones
• length of the jaw line
• shape of the eyebrows
Quick response QR codes
These codes are made up of a matrix filled-in dark
squares on a light background. Normal barcodes can hold
up to 30 digits while QR codes can hold up up to 7000
digits, this gives greater storage of information. QR codes
can be scanned anywhere using built-in cameras in
modern smart phones and downloading appropriate
applications for QR. The advantages of using QR codes
are:
• There is no need for the user to write down a website
address; scanning the QR code does this automatically.
• QR codes can store website addresses/URLs that appears
everywhere, giving an effective method of advertising.
Digital cameras
Modern cameras are controlled by a
microprocessor which can automatically carry
out the following tasks:
• adjust the shutter speed
• focus the image automatically
• operate the flash automatically
• adjust the aperture size
• adjust the size of the image
• remove ‘red eyes’ when flash has been used
Keyboards
Keyboards are the most common and efficient
way used for data entry. They are used as input
devices in many electronic items like computers
and tablets.
The keyboard is connected to the computer
using the USB port or wireless connection. In
tablets and mobile phones, keyboards appear
as virtual or a type of touch screen technology.
Each character pressed are converted into ASCII
value.
Pointing devices
The selection of an application often requires the user to
‘click’ on certain areas known as icons. Selection of the
icon is usually done with a pointing device (eg. mouse
and trackerball) or by using touchscreen. However, the
mouse is the most common form of pointing devices and
it comes in various forms:
• mechanical ball arrangement; connected to the
computer using the USB port
• the more modern type is to use red LEDs to detect the
movement of the mouse
• wireless
However optical mouse require space and
appropriate surfaces, unlike tracker balls.
Tracker balls don’t need desk space or special
surfaces since they are not meant to be
moved. A ball on top of the tracker ball is
moved to control a cursor on the screen.
Microphones
Microphones are used to input sound in a
computer. For example:
• doing a ‘voice over’ in a presentation
• part of the speech recognition system
• part of the voice recognition system
• enabling a disabled person to communicate
with a computer
Touchscreens
Touchscreens are very commonly used as input
devices, this is because they don’t require
other components (input devices) like mouses
and keyboards. There are 3 major types of
touchscreen technologies applied to mobile
screens which are:
• capacitive
• infra-red
• resistive
Capacitive:
• Made up of many layers of glass, creating
electric field between the glass layers.
• When the top layer is touched, the electric
current changes and the where the screen was
touched is determined by an on-board
microprocessor.
Benefits
• Medium cost technology
• Screen visibility is good even in strong
sunlight.
• Permits multi-touch capability
• Screen is very durable
Drawbacks
• Allows only the use of bare fingers as the form
of input.
Infra-Red:
• Heat Sensitive: uses glass as the screen
• needs a warm object to carry out operations
• Optical: uses glass as a screen
• uses an array of sensors to pin point the
contact of where the screen is touched from
Resistive:
• the top layer is made out of polyester and the
bottom is glass
• the top and bottom layer are connected via a
circuit
• signals are sent out, which are interpreted by
a micro processor and does the calculation
and finds the co-ordinates of where the screen
was touched
Benefits
• inexpensive technology
• can allow the use of bare fingers/gloved
fingers/stylus for input operations
Drawbacks
• Screen visibility is poor in strong sunlight
• Doesn’t permit multi touch capability
• It is vulnerable to scratch/break the screen.
Interactive Whiteboard
An Interactive Whiteboard is a large touch
screen. It is mostly used in schools and
meetings. The screen displays content for
everyone in the room to see. The person
leading the discussion can touch the board
and change the display.
Sensors
Sensors are devices which read and measure
physical properties. These can include
temperature, pressure, acidity and so on. Real data
is ANALOGUE in nature – this means it is constantly
changing and doesn’t have a discrete value.
Analogue data usually requires some form of
interpretation; for example, the temperature
measurement on a mercury thermometer requires
the user to look at the height of the mercury to
work out the temperature.
However, computers cannot make any sense
of these physical quantities and the data
needs to be converted into a digital format.
This is usually achieved by an ANALOGUE TO
DIGITAL CONVERTER (ADC). This device
converts physical values into discrete digital
values.
• DAC: digital-to-analog converter is a system that
converts a digital signal into an analog signal.
An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the
reverse function.

• ACTUATOR: An actuator is a component of a machine

that is responsible for moving and controlling a
mechanism or system, for example by opening a valve.
An actuator is the mechanism by which a control
system acts upon an environment. The control system
can be simple (a fixed mechanical or electronic
system), software-based (e.g. a printer driver, robot
control system), a human, or any other input.
Sensor Application
temperature • control a central heating system
• control/monitor a chemical
process
• control/monitor the
temperature in a greenhouse

moisture/humidity • control/monitor the moisture

levels in soil in a greenhouse
• control/monitor the humidity
levels in the air in a greenhouse
• monitor dampness levels in an
industrial application (e.g.,
monitor moisture in a paint spray
booth in a car factory)
light • switch street lighting on at night
and off during the day
• monitor/control light levels in a
greenhouse
• automatically switch on a car’s
headlights when it gets dark

infra-red/motion • turn on the windscreen wipers

on a car automatically
• detect intruders in a burglar
alarm system
• count people entering/leaving a
building
pressure • detect intruders in a burglar
alarm system
• weigh things (e.g. check the
weight of a vehicle)
• monitor/control a process
where gas pressure is important

acoustic/sound • pick up noise levels (e.g.

footsteps) in a burglar alarm
system
• detect the noise of liquids
dripping in a pipe

gas (e.g. O2 or CO2) • monitor pollution levels in a

river or in the air
• measure O2 and CO2 levels in a
greenhouse
• check for CO2 leaks in a power
station
pH • monitor/control
acidity/alkalinity levels in the soil
in a greenhouse
• pollution/environmental
monitoring in rivers

magnetic field • any application where

detection of changes in a
magnetic field is required (e.g. in
cell phones, CD players, etc.)
• used in anti-lock braking
systems in motor vehicles
Sensors are used in both monitoring and
control applications
Examples of monitoring include:
• monitoring a patient in a hospital for vital
signs such as heart rate, temperature, etc.
• monitoring of intruders in a burglar alarm
system
• checking the temperature levels in a car
engine
• monitoring pollution levels in a river.
Examples of control include:
• turning street lights on at night and turning
them off again during daylight
• regulating the temperature in a central
heating/air conditioning system
• changing the traffic lights at a road junction
• operating anti-lock brakes on a car when
necessary
• regulating the environment in a greenhouse.
 Output devices:
• inkjet printers- print out the given data using
ink
• laser printers- print out the given data using
laser ink
• loudspeakers- makes the actual sound louder.
• projectors- present the screen with a bigger
screen.
Inkjet Printer
Inkjet printers have print heads which contain
ink cartridges for each colour (blue, yellow, and
magenta, which can be mixed together to form
almost every colour). The stepper motor and
the belt move back and forth to glide the print
heads across the paper.
Inkjet printers can be used for small printing
sessions at home, because it takes time for the
printer to print since it can only print line by
line. Also the ink on the paper right after
printing is wet meaning that you can smudge it.
There are 2 ways in which ink is transferred on
the paper:
1. Thermal bubble: It generates heat so the ink
starts evaporating. This causes the ink to form
bubbles, as the bubbles expand, some of the ink
is ejected onto the paper, when the bubbles
collapse, the ink is drawn back into the print
head.
2. Piezoelectric: This involves the crystal located
at the back of the ink reservoir to vibrate. The
vibration forces the ink to be ejected onto the
paper.
Laser printers
A better option for printing is to use laser printers.
Laser printers use dry powder ink to pint instead of
liquid ink, this prevents the ink to smudge. Laser
printers make use of the properties of static electricity
to produce text or image, this explains why the paper
turns hot after being printed by a laser printer. Laser
printers also print the entire page in one go, unlike
inkjets which print line by line, this increases the speed
of printing and is why companies tend to use this type
of printers to print out leaflets and important
documents. The disadvantages of laser printers are
that they require more space than inkjet printers, they
might be heavy and can be expensive.
3D Printers
It all starts with making a virtual design of the
object you want to create. This virtual design
is a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file. This
CAD file is created using a 3D modelling
application or with a 3D scanner (to copy an
existing object). A 3D scanner can make a 3D
digital copy of an object.
3D printers use materials such as powdered
resin and metal, paper or ceramic powder.
3D printing uses additive manufacturing,
which involves adding materials in order to
form an object. This is the complete opposite
of subtractive manufacturing which requires
the solid material to be carved or cut in order
to form an object.
Types:
1. Direct 3D printing uses inkjet technology,
the print head moves left to right and up
down to build up layers of the object.
2. Binder 3D print is similar to direct 3D
printing. It sprays dry powder and then a
binder which is a type of glue to form a solid
layer. This technology can be used in hospitals
and industries to create equipments to use.
However, this technology can be dangerous
since it can print weaponries and can cause
harm to other people.
2D and 3D cutters
A three-dimensional (3D) laser cutter works in a
similar way to a two-dimensional (2D) cutter. The
main difference is that the 3D cutter can recognise
an object in the xy-z direction rather than just x-y.
3D laser cutters can cut the following materials:
• glass
• crystal
• metal
• polymer
• wood.
Very complex designs can be cut since the
cutters are controlled by computers and very
sophisticated software.
A 3D cutter can cut beyond the surface of the
material and produce very intricate designs.
It is interesting to contrast this method of
shaping objects with 3D printers, although it is
true to say that not all the materials which can
undergo 3D cutting can be used in 3D printing
methods.
Loudspeakers/headphones
Sound is produced from a computer by passing
the digital data through a DIGITAL TO ANALOGUE
CONVERTER (DAC) and then through an
AMPLIFIER; finally the sound emerges from a
(loud)SPEAKER. The sound is produced by voltage
differences vibrating a cone in the speaker
housing at different frequencies and amplitudes.
The rate at which the DAC can translate the
digital output into analogue voltages is known as
the SAMPLING RATE.
 Suppose a CD is being produced to contain a
number of music tracks. Each piece of music is
sampled 44 100 times a second. Each sample is 16
bits. Since the music is in stereo this also needs to
be taken into consideration.
The above information means that 44 100 × 2 ×
16 = 1 411 200 bits per second sampling (the
number ‘2’ is used in the calculation to account
for the sound being in stereo).
Since 1 byte = 8 bits, this equates to 1 411 200/8
bytes per second.
This works out at 176 400 bytes per second.
Light projectors
There are 2 common types of light projector;
digital light projectors (DLP) and LCD projectors.
Digital Light Projectors:
Digital Light Projectors produce bright white
light which passes through filters which will
split them into different colours. They produce
very good quality images and videos but are
very high on price. These are used in cinemas
and stages since the projected screens are very
large, so they need better quality images.
 LCD projectors :
LCD projectors are older technology than the
DLP and the image quality aren’t that good,
but the price is more reasonable. It is mostly
used in schools and smaller meetings where
only small surfaces are to be projected on.
The CRT monitor
These are big and heavy and use a lot of desk
space and electricity. It is the oldest
technology used by monitors and is based on
the cathode ray tube technology that was
developed for television. This type of monitor
is no longer popular.
LCD monitor
The LCD monitor, the most common kind of
flat panel display. It is a newer technology
than CRT. LCD monitors use much less desk
space, are lightweight and use less electricity
than CRT. They also work as touch screens in
tablet computers, mobile phones, and other
handheld technologies.
LED Monitor
An LED Monitor (or Light Emitting Diode) or
LED display is an LCD Monitor that uses light
emitting diodes for back lighting. The first LCD
Monitors used cold cathode fluorescent lamps
instead of LEDs to illuminate the screen.
OLED Monitor
The newest technology to monitors is OLED
(or the Organic Light Emitting Diodes) which is
thinner, lighter and more flexible than every
screen types mentioned before.