Direct Input Devices

Direct input devices require less human interaction in order to get data into a computer. Examples of direct input devices are Magnetic
Stripe Reader, Chip and Pin Reader, Barcode Reader, Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR), Optical Mark Recognition (OMR),
Optical Character Reader (OCR).

1. Magnetic Stripe Reader

# Reads information from magnetic stripes found on Bank Cards, Membership Cards and Hotel Door Cards etc.
# The strip on the cards holds information such as:
Bank account number
Name of card holder
Expiry date of membership
etc

Data contained on the card's stripe is read by pulling the card through the magnetic stripe reader. This is known as 'swiping'.
# The magnetic stripe reader then sends data from the card into the computer for processing.
Uses of a Magnetic Stripe Reader:
# ATM's use these readers to process the information on bank cards.
# EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale) use the readers to transfer customer's money from their bank accounts when they
purchase goods in stores.
# Hotel rooms sometimes use magnetic stripe readers in place of door keys.
People who want to enter a room would swipe their card through the reader in order to open the door.
Advantages/Disadvantages of using a Magnetic Stripe Reader:
Advantages Disadvantages
Entering data is very fast. You just swipe the card through the The magnetic stripe on cards can only hold a small amount
machine. of data.
The cards need to be in contact with the reader in order to
No possibly of data entry errors as there is no typing involved. be used.
(cannot be used over the internet for example)
The stripes on cards are not affected by water and so quite robust If the stripe does get damaged then the data is lost
(not easily damaged). (unreadable).
Magnetic stripes on cards are easily duplicated (known as
Data held on the card cannot be read by eye so bank details etc are
card cloning).
safe.
(if this happens you are prone to theft of funds in your bank)

2. Chip and Pin Reader

# These allow people to pay for goods and services electronically at EFTPOS terminals(electronic funds transfer point of sale).
# The chip and pin reader works by inserting a bank/credit card into a slot and then entering a PIN (personal identification number).
The PIN ensures that the person with the bank card is the genuine owner. Only the owner of the card should know the PIN and money can
only be transferred with the correct number.
# If the correct PIN is entered, the cost of goods/services will be taken from the card holder's bank and transferred to the companies
(restaurant, store etc)
Uses of Chip and Pin Readers:
# Used to make secure payments for goods/services in places such as:
Supermarkets
Restaurants
Cafes
Buying petrol
etc
Advantages/Disadvantages of using Chip and PIN Readers:
Advantages Disadvantages
More secure than magnetic stripe readers as the user needs to It is possible to forget your PIN which means you cannot make
know the correct PIN. payments with your card .
People can look over your shoulder as you enter your PIN. This
Information contained on the chip is harder to clone (copy) than it
makes it possible to access your money if they ever stole your
is to copy magnetic stripes.
card.
Chips can hold more data than magnetic stripes can.
Chip and PIN Readers are portable so they can be brought to you
(waiter in a restaurant for example)

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3. Barcode Scanner/Reader
# Used to read information that is stored on product's barcodes.
# The barcode scanner reads the information stored on the barcode using a visible red light which is reflected and translated into digital
information.
# The barcode is present on products and holds information about each product including:
Product Id number
Manufacturer
Country of origin
The barcode does not store the price of the product. This information is held in a computer database and accessed using the product id.
Note: By storing the price in a database instead of on individual bar codes, it is easier to change (if you had a sale for example). All you
would do is change the price in the database instead of having to replace the barcodes on each of the items.
# Once a barcode has been scanned, a computer can read the information stored on the barcode and access details about the product
that are stored in a database.
# Barcode scanners are usually built into POS (point of sale) terminals in supermarkets.
# Handheld scanners are also commonly used to read bar codes (usually if items are too large and heavy to move to the scanner).
Uses of Barcode Scanners/Readers:
# Used in supermarkets, stores and warehouses where goods are marked with a barcode
Remember: Barcodes hold information about the product which is linked to a computer database. This enables automatic very fast
itemised billing to take place.
# They are used in libraries to scan in library cards and read ISBN numbers on books to find out which ones are on loan.
# They are used in keeping track of packages that are being delivered to different locations.
# Also used in organising luggage in airports (helps ensure that luggage is loaded onto the correct plane).
Advantages/Disadvantages of Barcode Scanners/Readers:
Advantages Disadvantages
Quick and easy to change product prices. Only the price data in Quite an expensive way to gather information. Each item
the database needs to updated. There is no need to change needs a barcode and the scanners/computer technology/
individual prices on each of the item's bar codes. database needed is also expensive.
Quick and easy way of getting information into a system. (all you Bar codes can be swapped on items which means people
do is scan the item's bar code) may pay less for more expensive items.
Rely on undamaged bar codes in order to function. (if a bar
Very accurate as there is no manual typing involved code is damaged, item numbers have to be typed into the
system by hand)
Enables automatic stock control.

4. Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

# System which automatically reads marks made in pen or pencil.
# Typically used to read multiple choice examinations where students shade in (mark) answers that they think are correct.
# The OMR reader shines a light onto the form and less light is reflected where a pencil mark has been made.
# This allows the reader to tell which options have been chosen and sends the results back to a computer. Once the data is on a computer
it can be quickly analysed. For example: the computer will work out the grade of a multiple choice test.
# Optimal Mark Readers can input the data held on forms (such as multiple choice exams) very fast. Up to 4000 sheets per hour can be
processed this way. Imagine how long it would take to mark 4000 multiple choice tests by eye!!
Uses of OMR's:
# Used to read the shaded areas on documents such as:
Multiple choice examinations
Multiple choice questionnaires
Lottery tickets
But are typically used on any document that has multiple choice responses that are
shaded in.
Advantages/Disadvantages of OMR's:
Advantages Disadvantages
Extremely fast way of inputting information into a Forms need to be accurately designed to make sure that the
computer. (around 4000 forms can be read per hour) marks/shading are in correct position to be read by the device.
Very accurate as document's data is fed into the computer If forms have been incorrectly filled in they cannot be read
automatically with no manual typing. (accuracy relies on the properly. (In this case documents would have to be read
forms being filled in correctly) manually, by eye, which would take a long time)
Can save money as there is no need to employ workers to
Can only read shaded areas (Cannot input or read text).
enter form information into a computer.
Forms can jam in the machine as they are fed through.

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5. Optical Character Reader (OCR)
# Optical character readers consist of a scanner along with special software.
# OCR's allow us to scan text on paper (hardcopy) into a computer.
# Once into the computer, OCR software converts the scanned text into a digital format. The digital version of the text can be edited and
formatted.
# Once converted to digital, the text can be used in programs such as word-processors, presentations, web sites etc. See diagram below:

Uses of OCR's:
# Used in the processing of Passports and Identity Cards.
# OCR is also used in the process of digitizing books.
Note: book digitizing is where hard copy printed books are converted into digital format for use on E-book readers such as Amazon's
Kindle.
Advantages/Disadvantages of OCR's:
Advantages Disadvantages
The system can have difficulty reading handwriting (especially
Very fast way of entering hard-copy text into a computer.
if it is messy).
Cheaper than paying an employee to manually re-type printed Not 100% accurate. (relies on being able to read the original
text into a computer. text)
Avoids typing errors as the process is automatic (no typing As it is not 100% accurate, information needs to be manually
involved) checked for errors. This is time consuming.

6. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

# MICR is a system which can read information printed in a special ink (the ink contains iron particles).
# This special ink is used to write customer account numbers on the bottom of cheques.
# The MICR device reads the account numbers then converts it to a form the computer can understand.
# The converted information is then sent to the computer so the cheque can be processed
Uses of MICR:
# MICR devices are mainly used to process cheques. Below there is a summary of the process:
1. Every day millions of cheques. are sent to banks for processing. To process the information on these cheques. would take far too long if
it were done by hand.
2. MICR automatically (and quickly) processes the information on these cheques. With 100% accuracy (They can handle 300 per minute).
3. MICR can be used to read the following information:
Customer account number
Bank sort-code/branch number
Cheque number.
# Some countries also use MICR devices to read the passport number on passports.
Advantages/Disadvantages of MICR:
Advantages Disadvantages
Cheques. can be processed very quickly (up to 300 per minute.) Only a very limited number of different characters can be read.
Greater security than OCR because the special ink characters Both the MICR device Magnetic Ink are more expensive than
cannot be changed. other methods of direct data entry.
No manual input… therefore less errors. (user just swipes
information through the reader)
Information can still be read even if someone writes over the
magnetic ink characters.
For example: if someone tries to manually alter an account
number by hand the device will still read only the original data.
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Pictures of Direct Input Devices