INPUT DEVICE

An input device is any peripheral (piece of computer hardware equipment)

used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system
(such as a computer). Input and output devices make up the hardware
interface between computers as a scanner or 6DOF controller.

Classification
Many input devices can be classified according to:

The modality of input (e.g. mechanical motion, audio, visual, etc.)

whether the input is discrete (e.g. keypresses) or continuous (e.g. a

mouse's position, though digitized into a discrete quantity, is fast
enough to be considered continuous)

the number of degrees of freedom involved (e.g. two-dimensional

traditional mice, or three-dimensional navigators designed for CAD
applications)

Pointing devices, which are input devices used to specify a position in space,
can further be classified according to:

Whether the input is direct or indirect. With direct input, the input
space coincides with the display space, i.e. pointing is done in the
space where visual feedback or the cursor appears. Touchscreens and

light pens involve direct input. Examples involving indirect input

include the mouse and trackball.

Whether the positional information is absolute (e.g. on a touch screen)

or relative (e.g. with a mouse that can be lifted and repositioned)

Note that direct input is almost necessarily absolute, but indirect input may
be either absolute or relative. For example, digitizing Graphics tablets that
do not have an embedded screen involve indirect input, and sense absolute
positions and are often run in an absolute input mode, but they may also be
setup to simulate a relative input mode where the stylus or puck can be lifted
and repositioned.

Keyboards

A 'keyboard' is a human interface device which is represented as a layout of

buttons. Each button, or key, can be used to either input a linguistic
character to a computer, or to call upon a particular function of the computer.
Traditional keyboards use spring-based buttons, though newer variations
employ virtual keys, or even projected keyboards.
Examples of types of keyboards include:

Computer keyboard

Keyer

Chorded keyboard

LPFK

MOUSE (COMPUTING)

In computing, a mouse (plural mouses, mice, or mouse devices.) is a

pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative
to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held
under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons. It sometimes
features other elements, such as "wheels", which allow the user to perform
various system-dependent operations, or extra buttons or features can add
more control or dimensional input. The mouse's motion typically translates
into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows for fine control of a
Graphical User Interface.
The name mouse, originated at the Stanford Research Institute, derives from
the resemblance of early models (which had a cord attached to the rear part
of the device, suggesting the idea of a tail) to the common mouse.[1]
The first marketed integrated mouse shipped as a part of a computer and
intended for personal computer navigation came with the Xerox 8010 Star
Information System in 1981. However, the mouse remained relatively
obscure until the appearance of the Apple Macintosh; in 1984 PC columnist
John C. Dvorak ironically commented on the release of this new computer
with a mouse: There is no evidence that people want to use these things.[2]
A mouse now comes with most computers and many other varieties can be
bought separately.

HIGH-DEGREE OF FREEDOM INPUT DEVICES

Some devices allow many continuous degrees of freedom as input. These

can be used as pointing devices, but are generally used in ways that don't
involve pointing to a location in space, such as the control of a camera angle
while in 3D applications. These kinds of devices are typically used in
CAVEs, where input that registers 6DOF is required.

Wired glove

Fiber optic sensors

Magnetic or ultrasonic motion tracking devices

3D or 6D Mice

Some haptic devices

COMPOSITE DEVICES
Input devices, such as buttons and joysticks, can be combined on a single
physical device that could be thought of as a composite device. Many
gaming devices have controllers like this. Technically mice are composite
devices, as they both track movement and provide buttons for clicking, but
composite devices are generally considered to have more than two different
forms of input.

Game controller

Gamepad (or joypad)

Paddle (game controller)

Wii Remote

GAME CONTROLLER

Game controller is a

plug-in

device to a games or entertainment system used to control a playable

character or object in a computer game. A controller is typically connected
to a game console or computer by means of a wire,chord or nowadays,by
means of wireless connection. Controllers which have been classified as
games controllers are keyboards, mice, game pads, joysticksetc. Special
purpose devices, such as steering wheels for driving games and light guns
for shooting games, are also game controllers. Devices such as mice and
keyboards can be emulated with a game pad through the use of programs
such as JoyToKey an Xpadder. The main function of a game controller is
to govern the movement/actions of a playable body/object..etc. in a video or
computer game. The type of controller used in a game depends on the genre
of the game being played (i.e. Steering Wheel controllers for driving
gamesetc). Game controllers include keyboards, mice, game pads,
joysticks, paddles, or any other device designed for gaming that can receive
input.

Gamepad
gamepad (also called joypad or control pad), is a type of game controller
held in the hand, where the digits (especially thumbs) are used to provide
input. Gamepads generally feature a set of action buttons handled with the
right thumb and a direction controller handled with the left. The direction
controller has traditionally been a four-way digital cross (also named a
joypad, or alternatively a D-pad), but most modern controllers additionally
(or as a substitute) feature an analog stick.
Some common additions to the standard pad include shoulder buttons placed
along the edges of the pad, centrally placed start, select, and mode buttons,
and an internal motor to provide force feedback. Some models, like Space
Orb, have a trackball.
Gamepads are the primary means of input on all modern video game
consoles except for the Wii (though the Wii Remote can function alternately
as a gamepad). Gamepads are also available for personal computers,
although a keyboard and mouse combination tends to be utilized more often
for certain genres.
Some programmable joysticks that can be programmed to act as a key on a
keyboard have been made to circumvent the problem of lacking joystick
support in some computer games, notably the Belkin Nostromo SpeedPad
n52. There are several programs that emulate keyboard and mouse input
with a gamepad, as well, such as JoyToKey, Xpadder, and Pinnacle Game
Profiler.

Some manufacturers and retailers may also use the term "gamepad" to refer
to a gaming keypad.

JOYSTICK

A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and

reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks are
often used to control video games, and usually have one or more pushbuttons whose state can also be read by the computer. A popular variation of
the joystick used on modern video game consoles is the analog stick.
The joystick has been the principal flight control in the cockpit of many
aircraft, particularly military fast jets, where centre stick or side-stick
location may be employed (see also Centre stick vs side-stick).

Joysticks are also used for controlling machines such as cranes, trucks,
underwater unmanned vehicles, wheelchairs, surveillance cameras and zero
turning radius lawn mowers. Miniature finger-operated joysticks have been
adopted as input devices for smaller electronic equipment such as mobile
phones.

IMAGING AND VIDEO INPUT DEVICES

Video input devices are used to digitize images or video from the outside
world into the computer. The information can be stored in a multitude of
formats depending on the user's requirement.

Webcam

Image scanner

Fingerprint scanner

Barcode reader

3D scanner

Laser rangefinder

Medical Imaging
o

Computed tomography

Magnetic resonance imaging

Positron emission tomography

Medical ultrasonography

WEB CAM

A webcam is a video capture device connected to a computer or computer

network, often using a USB port or, if connected to a network, ethernet or
Wi-Fi.
Their most popular use is for video telephony, permitting a computer to act
as a videophone or video conferencing station. This can be used in
messenger programs such as Windows Live Messenger, Skype and Yahoo
messenger services. Other popular uses, which include the recording of
video files or even still-images, are accessible via numerous software
programs, applications and devices.
They are well known for their low manufacturing costs and flexibility

3D SCANNER
A 3D scanner is a device that analyzes a real-world object or environment
to collect data on its shape and possibly its appearance (i.e. color). The
collected data can then be used to construct digital, three dimensional
models useful for a wide variety of applications. These devices are used
extensively by the entertainment industry in the production of movies and
video games. Other common applications of this technology include
industrial design, orthotics and prosthetics, reverse engineering and
prototyping, quality control/inspection and documentation of cultural
artifacts.

Many different technologies can be used to build these 3D scanning devices;

each technology comes with its own limitations, advantages and costs. It
should be remembered that many limitations in the kind of objects that can
be digitized are still present: for example optical technologies encounter
many difficulties with shiny, mirroring or transparent objects.
There are however methods for scanning shiny objects, such as covering
them with a thin layer of white powder that will help more light photons to
reflect back to the scanner. Laser scanners can send trillions of light photons
toward an object and only receive a small percentage of those photons back
via the optics that they use. The reflectivity of an object is based upon the
object's color or terrestrial albedo. A white surface will reflect lots of light
and a black surface will reflect only a small amount of light. Transparent
objects such as glass will only refract the light and give false three
dimensional information.

IMAGE SCANERS
In computing, a scanner is a device that optically scans images, printed text,
handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. Common
examples found in offices are variations of the desktop (or flatbed) scanner
where the document is placed on a glass window for scanning. Hand-held
scanners, where the device is moved by hand, have evolved from text
scanning "wands" to 3D scanners used for industrial design, reverse
engineering, test and measurement, orthotics, gaming and other applications.

Mechanically driven scanners that move the document are typically used for
large-format documents, where a flatbed design would be impractical.
Modern scanners typically use a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a Contact Image

Sensor (CIS) as the image sensor, whereas older drum scanners use a photomultiplier
tube as the image sensor. A rotary scanner, used for high-

Output
device

An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to

communicate the results of data processing carried out by an information
processing system (such as a computer) to the outside world.
In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an
information processing system (such as a computer), and the outside world.
Inputs are the signals or data sent to the system, and outputs are the signals
or data sent by the system to the outside.
Examples of output devices:

Speaker

Headphones

Screen

Any

Printer
device

that

outputs information from a

computer is called, not surprisingly, an output device. Since most

information from a computer is output in either a visual or auditory format,
the most common output devices are the monitor and speakers. These two
devices provide instant feedback to the user's input, such as displaying
characters as they are typed or playing a song selected from a playlist.
While monitors and speakers are the most common output devices, there are
many others. Some examples include headphones, printers, projectors,
lighting control systems, audio recording devices, and robotic machines. A
computer without an output device connected to it is pretty useless, since the
output is what we interact with. Anyone who has ever had a monitor or
printer stop working knows just how true this is. Of course, it is also
important to be able to send information to the computer, which requires an
input device

Output devices are pieces of computer hardware that allow a computer

system to communicate information to a user or another system. This
information can be in any form, and includes sound, images, and even tactile
experiences. Output devices can usually only be used to send data from the
computer; items called input devices allow users and other systems to send
data to the computer.
Some of the most common output devices allow computers to present
information visually. The visual display unit called a monitor that can be
found connected to almost every personal computer is the best example of
this. Text, pictures, and other images are displayed on the monitor, allowing
users to interact with computer programs and receive data. Video projectors
are another type of output device. They function in a way similar to
monitors, but display images over a much larger area. Computer printers are
another type of output device that can be easily found. Printers allow the
computer to produce documents, pictures, and images on paper through the
use of inks and other dyes.
Audio output devices are also common. Computer speakers are the primary
source of this form of output. They allow the computer to emit sounds that
include music, audio tracks to digitized television shows, and even the
voices of other users. Headphones also do the same thing, but are placed
closer to the ears so that the sounds can not be heard by others.
Computers can even communicate with users through the sense of touch.
Refreshable Braille displays, or Braille terminals, allow computers to send

information by way of raised dots that are read with the fingertips. Force
feedback devices, or haptic devices, are sometimes built into joysticks and
mice so that users can feel vibrations and pressure. Tactile output devices are
less common than many other types, but can still be extremely important to
users.