List of Input Devices

Any gadget that feeds information to the computer and allows people to interact with the system and control it is called an input device. On a computer, the keyboard and mouse are the most often used input devices. However, a variety of devices can be used to enter data into a computer. Here, we will discuss such input devices in detail.

List of Input devices

The following are some of the most prevalent computer input devices:

1. Keyboard
2. Joystick
3. Light Pen
4. Scanner
5. Digitizer
6. Mouse
7. MICR
8. Digital Camera
9. Microphone
10. Paddle
11. Graphics Tablets
12. Steering Wheel
13. Light Gun
14. TouchPad
15. Touch screen
16. VR
17. Webcam
18. Biometric Devices

1. Keyboard

A computer keyboard, often known as a laptop keyboard, is a piece of hardware that allows you to input data into a computer. It is often a plug-and-play gadget. The alphabets (A-Z), numerals (0-9), symbols, and function keys are all found on a computer keyboard. These days, USB and wireless keyboards are widely used. Previously, the PS/2 keyboard was the most popular.

Types of Keys in a Keyboard

The following are the types of keys on the keyboard:

• Numeric Keys
  These are used to type numbers or move the cursor with the help of Shift. They generally consist of 17 keys that are arranged similarly to how most adding machines and calculators are.
• Function Keys
  At the top of the keyboard, there are twelve function keys positioned in a row. Each function key serves a distinct function and has a distinct meaning.
• Typing Keys
  The letter keys (A-Z) and the number keys (0-9), which have the same layout as typewriters, are included in these keys.
• Control keys
  These keys are used to control the pointer and the screen. They include four directional arrow keys. Other than these, Delete, End, Home, Insert, Page Down, Page Up, Alternate (Alt), Control (Ctrl), and Escape (Esc) are also Control Keys.
• Special Purpose Keys
  Special function keys on the keyboard include the Space bar, Shift, Num Lock, Tab, Enter, Caps Lock, and Print Screen.

2. Mouse

The most widely used pointing device is the mouse. It is a well-known cursor-control gadget made out of a tiny palm-sized box with a spherical ball at its base that detects mouse movement and sends suitable signals to the CPU when mouse buttons are pressed.

It usually includes two buttons on the left and right, with a wheel in the centre. You can move the cursor around the screen using the mouse, but you can't input text into the computer with it.

Some common types of Mouse

• Mechanical Mouse
  To track the movement, it uses a ball and many rollers. This mouse comes with a cable. A mechanical mouse can be used to get the amazing performance. The negative of this type of mouse is that it gathers dust in the mechanics, hence requires a routine cleaning.
• Cordless or Wireless Mouse
  This mouse controls pointer movement using wireless technologies like IrDA (infrared) or radio (Bluetooth or Wi-Fi) instead of using a cable. This mouse gets the energy from batteries. A wireless mouse makes the experience of using a mouse more enjoyable.
• Optical Mouse
  The movement of an optical mouse is tracked using optical circuitry. This mouse lasts longer and requires less maintenance than a mechanical mouse. However, the surface on which it is applied affects its performance. So, use a basic, non-glossy mouse mat for best results.
• Trackball Mouse
  It is a fixed input device that moves the pointer or cursor on the screen using a ball mechanism. To move the pointer on the screen, roll the ball halfway inside the device using a finger, thumb, or palm. The gadget has a sensor that detects the spin of the ball. It does not need to be moved on the operating table because it is fixed.

3. Joystick

A joystick is a pointing device for computers that allows you to move the pointer around the screen. Both the bottom and top ends of the stick are connected to a spherical ball, and the bottom spherical ball slips in a socket. You may move the joystick in all four directions.

C. B. Mirick of the US Naval Research Laboratory created the first joystick. Different varieties of joysticks exist, including displacement joysticks, finger-operated joysticks, hand-operated joysticks, isometric joysticks, and more. The pointer in a joystick continues to travel in the direction of the joystick until it is upright.

4. Scanners

A scanner, like a photocopier, is an input device that is used when paper data has to be transferred to a computer's hard disc and subsequently modified.

The scanner gathers images from the source and transforms them into a digital version stored on a disc. Before they're printed, you can alter these pictures.

5. Light Pen

The light pen's tip has a light-sensitive detector that allows users to pick items on the display screen by pointing to them. The item's position is detected by its light-sensitive tip, which transmits the appropriate signals to the CPU. It can also assist you in drawing on the screen if necessary. Because LCD screens are incompatible with light pen, it is no longer in use. In 1955, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Whirlwind project produced the first light pen (MIT).

6. Digitizer

A digitizer is a device that transforms analog data into digital data. A digitizer can transform a television or camera feed into a series of numbers stored in a computer. They can be used to create an image of the object at which the camera is pointed by the computer.

Because it transforms images and graphical data into binary inputs, the digitizer is also called a Tablet or Graphics Tablet. For fine sketching and image manipulation applications, a graphic tablet is used as a digitizer.

7. Microphone

A microphone is a type of sound input device used by computers. It absorbs sound vibrations and transforms them into audio signals or records them on media. The audio impulses are transformed into digital data, which is then saved in the computer. The user can also utilize the Microphone to converse with others. It is also used with cameras for video conferencing and to provide sound to the presentations.

Two common types of Microphones are given below:

• Ribbon
  It is well-known for its dependability. A thin aluminium, duralumin, or nanofilm ribbon is suspended in a magnetic field. Sound waves create vibrations in the ribbon, which result in a voltage proportional to the vibration speed. An electrical signal is used to communicate the voltage.
• Dynamic
  It has a basic design and is the most widely used Microphone. It has a thin sheet and a magnet with a metal coil wrapped around it on the front.

8. Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

Because banks handle a significant number of cheques every day, MICR input devices are commonly used at banks. The check number and the bank's code number are written using a special ink containing machine-readable magnetic particles.

9. Digital camera

It is a digital device since it captures photographs and records videos digitally before saving them on a memory card. Instead of the film that traditional cameras use to capture images, it uses an image sensor chip. This camera is connected to your computer.

10. Track Ball

A trackball is an input device that is widely used instead of a mouse in notebook or laptop computers. The pointer on this half-inserted ball may be adjusted by moving fingers on the ball.

A trackball takes up less room than a mouse because the entire device is not moved. A trackball might be shaped like a ball, button, or square.

11. Paddle

It's a hand-held wheel that increases or decreases volume in the same way a volume knob on a stereo does. In a back-and-forth motion, the paddle moves or controls the cursor or other game elements. It is commonly used as a joystick replacement.

12. Touchpad

It's generally seen in laptops as a mouse replacement. It lets you manage the cursor on the screen with your finger. It has two buttons, much like a mouse, for right and left-clicking.

13. Touch screen

The display screen of a smart phone, tablet, or another device that allows users to interact with the device or submit inputs with their fingers is known as a touch screen. Now, most of the electronic gadgets have a touch screen as an alternative to using a mouse to navigate a graphical user interface. Touching, for example, can unlock your phone, access emails, open files, play movies, and so on.

14. Webcam

A webcam is a built-in camera on a computer. This input device can capture photographs and, if necessary, record videos. The photographs and movies are saved in the computer's memory and can be viewed on the screen.

15. Light Gun

It is a pointing input device used to aim and firing the targets on a video game, arcade, or another screen. The light cannon were used on the MIT Whirlwind computer for the first time.

16. Biometric Devices

Biometrics is the technique of identifying a person based on biological characteristics such as fingerprints, eye cornea, facial anatomy, etc. It is done with biometric devices, which come in various shapes and sizes depending on their scanning capabilities.

17. VR

The term "virtual reality" is abbreviated as "VR." A computer-generated artificial or virtual environment is what it refers to. A human may interact with virtual things in this artificial environment via input devices like headsets, gloves, and headphones.

18. Steering wheel

In racing video games, such as automobile racing games or driving simulators, a steering wheel is used to operate a vehicle. It functions similarly to a conventional steering wheel and allows you to turn right or left.