Examples of Input Devices

The input devices They are those that fulfill the function of entering or providing data and control signals to the central processing unit of a system. In most cases we speak of input devices for devices that have a connection to the central unit of a computer, that is, the CPU. For example: mouse, scanner, webcam.

As stated, the central function of computers is the data processing, so it can be said that the history of computing itself is the history of the improvement of processing methods:

Starting in 1970, in what is known as the fourth generation of computers, the innovation more important were the microprocessors (or chips), which generated a revolution in data processing matters: the processing speed rises 770,000 instructions per second. The computer could be made much smaller, accessible to households, and much less expensive.

Since 1985, computer innovation has focused mainly on input through sound waves with wireless systems, as well as through the emergence of robotics: cybernetics advances faster and faster and the interconnections between Computers demand the introduction of increasingly efficient methods for inputting and processing data. data.

The fundamental division between the devices, then, is made according to their function with respect to processing:

Anyway there are some cases of mixed devices or hybrids, which at the same time send and receive signals to the different parts of the computer: the latest generation of devices such as the touch screen, the mouse or the scanner are examples of this.

Examples of input devices

1. Optical pencil. Pointing device that is applied on the screen.
2. Mouse. Functional device for moving around the computer screen.
3. Touch screen. Screen designed to recognize pressure on the surface. By touching the screen, the user can make a selection or move the cursor, equivalent to the mouse.
4. Scanner. Device that, with a light beam, detects the patterns of light and darkness and thus allows converting a physical image into a digital signal that reproduces it as it is.
5. Joystick. Pointing device that is used very often in computer games, although it is also common in industrial applications to handle gadgets.
6. Code bar scanner. By means of the laser, drawings formed by bars and parallel spaces can be read, thus encoding information.
7. Alphanumeric keyboard. The most frequent, with 62 keys among which are all the numbers and letters, plus a series of commands.
8. Function keyboard. Useful for computer systems, it has 13 configurable letters.
9. Digital photo camera. It connects to the computer and transmits the images it captures to it. It can be from photos or video.
10. Webcam. Like the camera but small, not showing the images it takes but simply transmitting them to the computer.