touchscreen
Enable an agent to recognise a touchscreen, assess its display and touch-input condition, and determine which interactions, adjustments and maintenance actions are appropriate.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an agent to recognise a touchscreen, assess its display and touch-input condition, and determine which interactions, adjustments and maintenance actions are appropriate.
A touchscreen is an electronic display assembly with a touch-sensitive surface that detects contact positions, allowing a user to provide input directly at locations on the displayed interface.
It can be Inspect the viewing surface and compare touch-active coverage with displayed content.; Test contact detection, positional registration, edge response and simultaneous contacts.; Check supported fingers, gloves and styluses against documented compatibility.; Adjust supported calibration, orientation, sensitivity or input-enable settings through authorised controls.; Isolate display, sensing, controller and host-connection faults using supported diagnostics.; Disable input for approved cleaning or arrange repair when surface damage or unreliable sensing warrants it..
Distinguishing features
A visible display and a touch-sensing region correspond spatially, allowing input at the location of displayed content.
Contact at the viewing surface produces position-related input, distinguishing a touchscreen from a display controlled solely by separate buttons or a pointer.
Its sensing region supports positional interaction across an area rather than only fixed touch-sensitive switches.
The assembly remains a touchscreen when installed inside a larger device; the enclosing device and its application are separate modelling subjects.
A touch overlay qualifies within this scope when associated with the display it serves; an unattached sensor panel alone is a component.
Scope
+ The relationship between the visible display area and the touch-sensitive area
+ Touch-sensing principles, controller behaviour and supported contact types
+ Optical, dimensional and touch-input performance characteristics
+ Power, host connections, coordinate mapping and operating states
+ Surface condition, environmental compatibility, maintenance and interaction hazards
- The complete phone, tablet, kiosk or machine containing the touchscreen
- Application workflows, interface content and gesture meanings assigned by software
- Touchpads and other touch-input surfaces without a spatially corresponding display
- Displays without touch sensing
- Styluses, gloves and cleaning products as independently modelled things
- Product-line identity and individual-unit histories except as linked specifications and observations
Characteristics
- Touch-sensing principle
- resistive; surface capacitive; projected capacitive; infrared; surface acoustic wave; other; unknown Helps establish compatible contacts, environmental sensitivities and diagnostic methods.
- Assembly relationship
- touch sensor, display, cover surface, controller and host component links Locates responsibility for faults and establishes which parts can be serviced separately.
- Display and touch-active dimensions
- width and height in mm for each area; display diagonal in inches where specified Reveals inactive margins and supports installation and coordinate-registration checks.
- Display resolution and touch reporting resolution
- display width × height in pixels; reported touch-coordinate ranges in controller units Separates image detail from input-coordinate granularity; neither alone establishes touch accuracy.
- Touch position error
- mm, with test locations, contact tool, calibration and operating conditions Determines whether reported contacts reliably correspond to intended targets.
- Concurrent contact capacity
- number of independently reported contacts under a stated configuration Constrains simultaneous interactions and helps distinguish hardware capability from host restrictions.
- Contact compatibility
- bare finger; specified gloves; passive stylus; specified active stylus; unsupported; unverified Prevents assuming that every touchscreen accepts the same input tools.
- Touch reporting latency
- ms from defined physical contact onset to a defined controller or host event Supports responsiveness assessment without conflating sensing delay with application rendering delay.
- Display visibility
- luminance in cd/m² and contrast under specified ambient illumination and viewing angle Determines whether users can see the targets they are expected to touch.
- Input and display operating state
- display active, dimmed or off; touch enabled, disabled, waking or faulted; host connected or disconnected An apparently dark or frozen screen may still accept touch input.
- Host and power connections
- video interface, touch-data interface and power-supply links with specified electrical requirements Display, touch and power faults can originate in different connections.
- Surface and assembly condition
- intact; contaminated; scratched; cracked; delaminating; intermittently responsive; unassessed Relates visible damage and contamination to usability, maintenance and safe handling.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 17 findings · 28 questions.
Display and touch identity Establishes the combined display-and-input function and the physical assembly to which observations apply.
Touchscreens are easily confused with their host devices, standalone displays and touch-sensor components.
Functional boundary
Identifies the defining relationship between displayed content and sensed contact.
Spatially corresponding input
Record whether contact positions on the viewing surface map to locations in the associated display.
- Which visible display region corresponds to the touch-sensing region? definition
- Is the subject a complete touchscreen assembly, an installed overlay or a standalone component requiring a linked display? boundary
Assembly composition
Separates the sensor, display, cover surface and controller within the host installation.
Component and host links
Record component relationships and distinguish documented product construction from observations of a particular installation.
- Which documentation identifies the sensor, display, controller and cover construction? provenance
- Which components belong to the touchscreen assembly, and which belong to its host device? boundary
Contact sensing Describes how the surface detects contacts and which input tools and contact patterns it supports.
Sensing technology and controller configuration determine whether an intended touch can be recognised.
Sensing and contact tools
Connects the sensing mechanism to documented finger, glove and stylus compatibility.
Supported contact conditions
Record the sensing principle and verified contact-tool combinations without generalising compatibility across technologies.
- What sensing principle is documented for this touchscreen? definition
- Which fingers, glove types and stylus models have documented or tested support, and under what conditions? provenance
Contact discrimination
Addresses simultaneous contacts, tracking continuity and rejection of unintended contacts.
Contact tracking and rejection
Record concurrent-contact capability and any verified handling of palms, nearby contacts or surface moisture.
- How many contacts remain independently tracked during the specified test, including near edges and near each other? measurement
- Which supported settings affect palm or unintended-contact rejection, and when may they be changed? action
Visual and touch registration Covers target visibility, coordinate alignment and the performance of contact reporting.
Successful touchscreen interaction requires both a readable target and a sufficiently accurate, timely input location.
Viewing conditions
Records how the display, cover surface and ambient conditions affect visible touch targets.
Target visibility
Record display geometry and visibility under stated lighting and viewing conditions, including reflections or apparent displacement through the cover.
- What are the display dimensions, pixel resolution and touch-active dimensions? measurement
- Under the intended illumination and viewing angles, how readable are targets and how apparent is any separation between the contact surface and image? measurement
Coordinate and time performance
Separates coordinate range, positional error, repeatability and reporting delay.
Registered contact performance
Record measured input performance with explicit endpoints and conditions, including orientation and calibration state.
- What positional error and repeatability are measured at the centre, edges and corners after the supported mapping procedure? measurement
- What touch-reporting latency is measured, and where do its timing boundaries begin and end? measurement
- Which calibration or coordinate-mapping procedure is supported after rotation, replacement or host reconfiguration? action
Host integration and states Records the connections and operating states that make displayed output and touch input available.
A working image does not establish working touch input, and an inactive image does not establish disabled input.
Connection paths
Identifies video, touch-data and power paths and their host dependencies.
Interface dependencies
Record connection requirements and the controller, firmware or driver dependencies needed for supported operation.
- Which interfaces carry video, touch reports and power, and what electrical requirements are documented? provenance
- Which touch capabilities are supplied by the assembly, and which depend on host drivers or application interpretation? boundary
Input state control
Distinguishes display activity, touch availability, wake behaviour and loss of communication.
Observable and commanded states
Record independently observable display and input states and supported transitions between them.
- Does touch remain active or trigger wake-up while the display is dimmed, blank or asleep? measurement
- How can an agent disable touch input and verify that contacts no longer generate host actions? action
Surface, environment and service Connects physical condition and exposure to reliable interaction, cleaning and repair decisions.
The same surface must remain viewable, touch-responsive and safe to contact throughout use and maintenance.
Exposure and protection
Records the tested operating environment and the exact assembly boundary covered by protection claims.
Environmental operating envelope
Record documented temperature, moisture and interference limits, and attach standards or certification evidence only to the configuration it covers.
- What operating limits and touch-performance conditions are documented for temperature, humidity, water on the surface and electromagnetic interference? provenance
- Which standards, issuing bodies, editions and test records support protection claims, and do those claims cover the front surface, complete module or installed host? boundary
Condition and maintenance
Relates physical damage and input symptoms to supported cleaning, diagnosis and service actions.
Surface fault response
Record contamination, cracks, delamination, dead regions and unintended input, together with evidence supporting the next action.
- Which cleaning materials, methods and surface protectors are approved for the cover and its coatings? action
- Which observations require input isolation, withdrawal from use or replacement, and what supported checks distinguish surface faults from controller or host faults? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- This describes the hardware class, not a particular product or individual unit; the statements are recalled knowledge rather than researched findings.
- Size and contact-count ranges are illustrative application ranges, not defining limits or verified market statistics.
- Researchers should verify applicable editions and product-specific requirements; power supply, environmental protection, glove support and safety provisions depend on the complete device and its intended use.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of touchscreen this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Resistive touchscreen
- Surface-capacitive touchscreen
- Projected-capacitive touchscreen
- Infrared touchscreen
- Surface-acoustic-wave touchscreen
- Optical-imaging touchscreen
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of touchscreen this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- ISO 9241-410, issued by ISO, specifies design criteria for physical input devices and is relevant to touchscreen input ergonomics.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of touchscreen this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Smartphones and tablets
- Self-service kiosks and ticket machines
- Industrial machine control panels
- Vehicle infotainment and control interfaces
- Interactive public displays and classroom boards
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of touchscreen this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Display diagonal in handheld applications - Approximately 3-15 - inch
- Display diagonal in kiosks and interactive boards - Approximately 10-86 - inch
- Simultaneously reported touch contacts - Common implementations support 1-10; some large systems support more - contacts
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of touchscreen this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Cracking, delamination or damaged sensor conductors can produce dead areas or complete loss of touch input; broken cover glass can cause cuts.
- Water, contamination or electrical interference can cause missed touches or unintended inputs, depending on sensing technology.
- Calibration errors or incorrect coordinate mapping can make a touch activate a different displayed control.
- Gloves and incompatible styluses may prevent reliable operation, particularly on capacitive systems without suitable support.
- Accidental activation and limited tactile feedback can create operating hazards when important controls require visual attention.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of touchscreen this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Touchpad - A touchpad normally controls a pointer or interface on a separate display; a touchscreen senses input at the display surface.
- Electronic display - A display provides visual output; it becomes a touchscreen assembly only when touch sensing is integrated with or positioned over it.
- Touch sensor - A touch sensor is a sensing component that need not include a display; a touchscreen combines spatial touch sensing with a display.
- Graphical user interface - A graphical user interface is the software interaction layer; a touchscreen is hardware through which that interface may be operated.
- Pen digitizer - A pen digitizer senses a compatible pen and may support hover or pressure; touchscreen capability alone does not imply those functions.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of touchscreen this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Does an existing world model already cover touchscreen, requiring this registry entry to link to that publication instead of creating another?
- Which primary technical sources should establish the sensing-technology categories and their contact-compatibility limits?
- Which measurement methods provide comparable positional accuracy, repeatability and latency results across touchscreen technologies?
- Which standards apply to touchscreen modules themselves, and which apply only to particular hosts, installations or intended uses?
- How should the model represent proximity sensing, hover and active-stylus digitisation when they share the display surface but use capabilities distinct from touch detection?