When researching the different components of a touchscreen device, you may come across tactile sensors. Most touchscreens feature a tactile sensor. It’s a critically important component that allows touchscreen devices to identify and respond to touch commands. What is a tactile sensor exactly, and how does it work?
Tactile Sensors Defined
A tactile sensor is a hardware component that’s designed to measure information from physical input commands, such as a touch command. All touchscreen devices support touch commands. That’s essentially what distinguishes them from other electronic devices. To identify and respond to touch commands, they require a few key components, one of which being a tactile sensor.
Whether you have a smartphone, a tablet computer or any other touchscreen device, it probably features a tactile sensor. Tactile sensors are hardware components that work in conjunction with touch commands. When you perform a touch command, it will measure your command so that the touchscreen device can respond with the appropriate action.
How Tactile Sensors Work
Tactile sensors work by measuring touch commands and, in most cases, vibrating in response. The vibrations you feel after performing a touch command is a form of tactile feedback. The tactile sensors will detect your touch commands, after which they’ll send that information to a controller so that your command can be processed. At the same time, the touchscreen device will vibrate. Vibrations are a form of tactile feedback that confirms the touchscreen device has registered your touch command.
Types of Tactile Sensors
While all tactile sensors are capable of measuring information from physical input commands, not all of them are the same. There are different types of tactile sensors. Capacitive tactile sensors are those used in capacitive touchscreen devices. If you have a capacitive touchscreen, chances are it has a capacitive tactile sensor. Capacitive tactile sensors leverage the human body’s conductive properties to measure physical input commands.
There are also piezoelectric tactile sensors. As the name suggests, they are used in piezoelectric touchscreens. Piezoelectric touchscreens use the properties of a piezoelectric element to detect touch commands. They are designed with a tactile sensor that’s able to measure physical input commands.
In Conclusion
Touchscreen devices require a sensor to measure physical input commands. Known as a tactile sensor, it’s a key component of nearly all touchscreen devices. Tactile sensors are components that measure touch commands so that they can be processed.
