SECTION 6: INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES

INPUT:
Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
An Optical mark reader (OMR) is a
peripheral device that enables the gathering
of human-handled data electronically by
identifying certain markings on a
document. Usually the optical mark reading
is achieved with the aid of an OMR scanner that checks the transmission or reflection of light through
the paper; places having markings will reflect less light than the blank paper, resulting in less
contrasting reflectivity. This process is referred to as Optical Mark Recognition.

Character Readers (OCR) and (MICR)

Optical Character Reader (OCR)
An Optical Character Reader (OCR) is a peripheral device enabling letters, numbers or other
characters, usually printed on paper, to be optically scanned and input to a storage device, such as a
hard disk, magnetic tape. This process is called Optical Character Recognition. A OCR is also known
as flatbed scanner.

Magnetic Ink Character Reader (MICR)

A Magnetic Ink Character Reader (MICR) is a peripheral device that uses
special ink and characters. When a document that contains this ink needs to be
read, it passes through a machine, which magnetizes the ink and then translates
the magnetic information into characters. MICR technology is used by banks to
identify signatures and other markings on cheques.

Mouse
The Mouse is the most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control
device having a small palm size box with a round ball or laser sensor at its base,
which senses the movement of the mouse and sends corresponding signals to
the CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed.

Joystick
The Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to move the cursor position on a
monitor screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The
lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be moved in all four directions.
The function of the joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in Computer
Aided Designing (CAD) and playing computer games.
Barcode Reader

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A Bar code reader or bar code scanner is an electronic device that can read and output
printed barcodes to a computer. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light
sensor translating for optical impulses into electrical signals. Additionally, nearly all barcode readers
contain decoder circuitry analyzing the bar code's image data provided by the sensor and sending the
barcode's content to the scanner's output port.

Document Scanner
a Document scanner is a device, which converts a document or text from its paper
form into digital data. The current trend in document scanners is considered a big
step toward effective document management.

Light Pen
A Light pen is a pointing device similar to a pen. It is used to select a displayed
menu item or draw pictures on the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and
an optical system placed in a small tube. When the tip of a light pen is moved
over the monitor screen and the pen button is pressed, its photocell sensing
element detects the screen location and sends the corresponding signal to the
CPU.

Touch Terminals
A Touch Terminal is a computer that lets you touch the screen to interact with
it. Instead of using a mouse or trackball to get around the screen, you use
your fingers to touch the places you want to "click". Many can also accept
more than one touch at a time! Touch terminals are commonly used on cell
phones, Tablets, Point of Sale (POS) machines, Personal Digital Assistants
(PDAs), Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), video games and supermarket
terminals.

Tablet Computer
A Tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile
device, typically with a mobile operating system
and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable
battery in a single thin, flat package. Tablets, being computers, do
what other personal computers do, but lack some input/output (I/O)
abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble
modern smartphones, the only differences being that tablets are
relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally.

Point of Sale (POS)

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A Point of Sale (POS) is a physical or virtual place where sales
transactions are made, typically a cash register or online shopping cart. In
other words, this is the place where the customer pays for an item and
purchases it from the seller. A Point of Sale can be found in supermarkets,
shopping malls, restaurants, utility companies and offices. The concept of
what a point-of-sale is has evolved with technology and software. The
Internet marketplace has extended this concept beyond physical places
and into the virtual world. A point-of-sale is the actual place where a sales
transaction is completed. This might be the cash register at a Best Buy
retail location or it might be the virtual shopping cart on Amazon.com or Ebay.com.

Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)

An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic or computerized
banking outlet that allows customers to complete basic transactions such as
handling check deposits or issuing cash withdrawals without the aid of a
branch representative or teller. ATMs are also referred to as Automated
Teller Machines, Automatic tellers, Automatic Teller Machines or Automatic
Banking Machines (ABMs). Anyone with a credit card or debit card can
access most ATMs. This saves time for a customer from having to stand in
a long line inside a bank.

Keyboard
The Keyboard is the most common and very popular input
component, which helps to input data to the computer. The
layout of the keyboard is like that of traditional
typewriter, although there are some additional keys
provided for performing additional functions. Keyboards are
of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards
with 104 keys or 108 keys are also available for Windows
and Internet.

Digital Camera
A Digital camera or Digicam is a camera that captures photographs
in digital memory. However, unlike film cameras, digital
cameras can display images on a screen immediately after being
recorded, and store and delete images from memory. Many digital
cameras can also record moving videos and sound. Most digital
cameras have a LCD for viewing both images in the viewfinder and
those in the camera's memory. Kodak, Canon, Sony, Nikon,
Olympus and several other companies make digital cameras.

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Biometric Systems
A biometric system is a technological system that uses information about a
person (or other biological organism) to identify that person. Biometric
systems rely on specific data about unique biological traits in order to work
effectively. Biometric verification is any means by which a person can be
uniquely identified by evaluating one or more distinguishing biological traits.
Unique identifiers include faces, fingerprints, hand geometry, earlobe
geometry, retina and iris patterns, voice waves, DNA, and signatures.
Biometric systems are used at airports, police stations, offices and even
private homes.

Sensors
A Sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from the
physical environment. The specific input could be light, heat, motion, moisture,
pressure, proximity, infrared, ultrasonic, smoke, gas, alcohol or any one of a great
number of other environmental phenomena. Sensors are found in devices such as
motion lights, air condition units and speed or radar guns,

Remote Controls
A Remote Control is an electronic device used to operate or control ae device
from a distance, usually wirelessly. For example, in consumer electronics,
a remote control can be used to operate devices such as a television set, DVD
player, radio, audio/video recording device or other home appliance, from a short
distance. Remote controls commonly operates via infrared signals but
sometimes by radio frequency signals.

Sound Capture / Recording

Sound Capture / Recording is the storage of sound so that a
person can hear the same sound more than once. The machine
converts the waves into electrical signals or digital data that are
then stored on recording media such as gramophone records,
cassette tapes, compact disks, pen drives or computer hard
drives.

Pointing Devices
A Pointing device is an input interface (specifically a human interface device) that allows a user to
input spatial (i.e., continuous and multi-dimensional) data to a computer. Movements of the pointing
device are echoed on the screen by movements of the pointer (or cursor) and other visual changes.
Examples of pointing devices are mouse, trackball, stylus and graphic tablet.

Mouse
The Mouse is the most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control device
having a small palm size box with a round ball or laser sensor at its base, which senses the
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movement of the mouse and sends corresponding signals to the CPU when the mouse buttons are
pressed.
Trackball
A Trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing
sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down
mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The trackball's buttons may be situated
to that of a mouse or to a unique style that suits the user.

Stylus
A Stylus, plural Styli or Styluses, is a writing utensil or a small tool for some
other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a
computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing
more precision when using touchscreens. It usually refers to a narrow elongated
staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many styluses are heavily curved to be
held more easily. Another widely used writing tool is the stylus used by blind users
in conjunction with the slate for punching out the dots in Braille.

Graphics Tablet
A Graphics tablet (also known as a digitizer, drawing tablet, drawing
pad, digital drawing tablet, pen tablet, or digital art board) is a
computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images,
animations and graphics, with a special pen-like stylus, similar to the way
a person draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets may also
be used to capture data or handwritten signatures. It can also be used to
trace an image from a piece of paper which is taped or otherwise secured
to the tablet surface. Capturing data in this way, by tracing or entering the
corners of linear poly-lines or shapes, is called digitizing. The device consists of a flat surface upon
which the user may "draw" or trace an image using the attached stylus, a pen-like drawing apparatus.
The image is displayed on the computer monitor, though some graphic tablets now also incorporate
an LCD screen for a more realistic or natural experience and usability. Some tablets are intended as
a replacement for the computer mouse as the primary pointing and navigation device for desktop
computers.

Webcam
A Webcam is a small digital video camera directly or indirectly connected to a
computer or a computer network. Webcams come with software that needs to be
installed on the computer to help users record video on or stream it from the Web.

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VISUAL OUTPUT:
Monitors
A monitor is an output device that displays information in
pictorial form. A monitor usually comprises the display
device, circuitry, casing, and power supply. The display device in
modern monitors is typically a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
with LED backlighting. Older monitors used a Cathode Ray
Tube (CRT). Monitors are connected to the computer via VGA, Digital Visual
Interface (DVI), HDMI Display Port or other proprietary connectors and signals.

Printers
A Printer is a device that accepts text and graphic output from a computer and transfers the
information to paper, usually to standard size sheets of paper. Below are the most common types of
printers:

Laser Printer
A laser printer is an output peripheral device that produces good-quality
printed material by using a laser to form a pattern of electrostatically
charged dots on a light-sensitive drum, which attract toner (or dry ink
powder). The toner is transferred to the paper and fixed to it by a heating
process to form characters and images. A laser printer produces the best
quality print and a relatively expensive. A laser printer in a non-impact printer.

Ink-jet Printer
An inkjet printer is an output peripheral device that creates an image by firing tiny droplets of ink
from one or more ink cartridges on paper, hence the inkjet definition. The print head moves back and
forth as the paper is fed through a set of rollers. The complete image is built-up from many small dots,
ink-jet printers are relatively inexpensive. An ink-jet printer is a non-impact printer.

Thermal Printer
A thermal printer is a printer that makes use of heat in order to produce the image
on paper. Thermal printing does not make use of ink or toner unlike many other
printing forms but largely depends on thermal (heat sensitive) papers for
producing the images. They are also quiet popular in creating labels owing to speed
of printing. Thermal printers are used primarily for printing receipts. Thermal printers
are non-impact printers.

Plotter Printer

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A Plotter printer is a computer hardware device much like a printer that is used for printing vector
graphics. Instead of toner, plotters use a pen, pencil, marker, or another writing tool to draw multiple,
continuous lines onto paper rather than a series of dots like a traditional printer. A plotter printer is
used primarily to print architectural drawings such as house plans and other designs. Plotters are
very large and are the most expensive printers. Plotter printers come in both impact and non-impact
categories.

Dot-Matrix Printer
A Dot-Matrix Printer (DMP) is a type of printer which uses pins
impacting an ink ribbon to print. These printers are generally
considered outdated, as they cannot create high-quality prints
and are costly as well. However, they have a certain specialty
that other printers like inkjet and laser printers do not have: as
they use impact for printing, they can be used to print multiple
copies of text at the same time with the help of carbon copying. Therefore, they are mostly used in
places where multipart forms are required. A dot matrix printer is also known as an impact matrix
printer.

Daisy-wheel Printer
A daisy wheel printer is an early type of impact printer that uses a metal
or plastic disk containing each of the letters, numbers, and other
characters it supports. When something is printed, the printer rotates the
disk to each character and then using a hammer strike each character
into an ink ribbon to create the character on paper.

3D Printer
A 3D printer is a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) device that creates
three-dimensional objects. For example, when building a plastic model, a 3D
printer may heat and fuse the layers of plastic together using a process called
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). In recent years, 3D printing has
developed enough to perform crucial roles in many applications, with the most
important ones being manufacturing, medicine, architecture, custom art and
design. Some companies even use 3D printers to create more 3D printers.

Microfilm
Microfilm is an analog storage medium using film reels which are exposed and developed into
photographic records using a photographic process. It is typically used to store paper documents
such as periodicals, legal documents, books and engineering drawings. It is compact in nature, is low
cost to produce and store and requires far smaller storage space than paper documents. Therefore, it
is considered to be a good archival form.

AUDIBLE OUTPUT:
Speaker

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A speaker is an output device that converts analog audio signals into the equivalent air vibrations in
order to make audible sound such as voice and music.

Headphone
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a
user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a
corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an audio source privately,
in contrast to a loudspeaker, which emits sound into the open air for anyone nearby to
hear. A headphone is an output device.

Headset
A headset combines a headphone with a microphone. Headsets are made with
either a single-earpiece (mono) or a double-earpiece (mono to both ears
or stereo). Headsets provide the equivalent functionality of a telephone
handset but with hands-free operation. They have many uses including in call
centers and other telephone-intensive jobs and for anybody wishing to have both
hands free during a telephone conversation. A headset is an output device.

Earphone
An Earphone is an output device that converts electrical energy into sound waves
and is worn over or inserted into the ear.