Over the past years, sensor technology has actively replaced the previously familiar buttons to the user. It seems that in this fight she is a clear favorite. People pretty quickly got used to the lack of buttons and to the fact that any action can be performed with an elementary touch.
Almost everyone paid attention to the fact that some devices respond to touch, and some only to touch. The second ones are equipped with just a resistive touch screen, and among all the devices existing today, the resistive sensor has the largest share.
What is the feature of this technology? The resistive screen consists of two main parts: the upper hard layer and the lower soft one. The inner surfaces of each side are made of resistive material capable of conducting electric current. The edges of each layer are equipped with electrodes.
When you click on the screen, the top layer bends and interacts with the bottom. The microcontroller instantly determines the point of contact, after which it transfers voltage to the electrodes of both plates. Thus, in a fraction of a second, the controller is able to determine the specified coordinates hundreds of times. The described operating principle underlies the operation of four-wire resistive sensors. There is also a five- and eight-wire resistive screen, which has better accuracy.
What does this technology give the user? The resistive screen instantly reacts to pressing by any solid object. It can be a finger, pencil, keychain, etc. That is why devices equipped with a resistive screen are often equipped with a stylus. It provides high accuracy in controlling the screen - they can get to the right point, which is not always convenient to make with a finger. However, the resistive screen does not differ in high resistance to mechanical stress, so use of pointed objects should be avoided.
Advantages and disadvantages
As for the benefits, this is, first of all, a relatively low price. The technology described above is simple and has long been used in the production of smartphones, e-books, etc. In addition, the new devices are equipped with a completely durable screen, which is not even afraid of a breakthrough of the outer membrane.
Further on the shortcomings. Resistive screens are characterized by less bright and contrasting images (even the thinnest and most transparent membrane will give way to glass). Also, the resistive screen cannot boast of the possibility of implementing multi-touch technology.
The niche of the resistive sensor is quite clearly defined, devices of this class successfully solve the tasks assigned to them. Cheap in this case does not mean poor quality. Rather, it is an opportunity not to overpay for functions whose presence is not initially required by the buyer. The question of choosing a capacitive or resistive screen is a matter of consumer taste. Each technology has both advantages and disadvantages, and what exactly the buyer needs from the device, only he can know.