Talk:Capacitive sensing

I don't think that the use of the word "transcapacitance" is correct here. Transcapacitance refers to a phenomenon where a voltage between one pair of nodes controls the charge storage between another pair of nodes. The phenomenon described in the article seems to be regular capacitance.

Disadvantages of Capacitive Sensing
Since styluses cannot be used, handwriting recognition (especially in the case of Asian characters) cannot be implemented.

I don't think that is entirely true. Objects can be equipped with conductive material that then can act as a conductor when the user touches that object. This is shown for example in the paper "SmartSkin: an infrastructure for freehand manipulation on interactive surfaces" where the term "capacitance tags" is coined. But I don't know right now how good this works for objects like a stylus with a fairly small surface area. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lilbobbel (talk • contribs) 11:35, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

It also states in the article that capacitive touch screens have a lesser degree of accuracy. I know there is a link showing this is possibly true, but I have used both capacitive and resistive touch screens from the same time period (about 2008, iPod touch second generation and an LG Cookie, which I happened to buy in 2009), and the iPod touch is a lot more accurate. The Cookie frequently needs calibrating, whereas I don't believe there is even an option to do that on the iPod. Tombomdoodle (talk) 10:23, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

According to a report by ABI Research, styli are especially needed in China for handwriting recognition because of the nature of its writing system

Most Mainland Chinese users do not enter text via handwriting anymore (rather text entry is pervasive), so whether or not handwriting is possible on capacitive touch screens is a moot point with respect to adoption; stylus-free smartphones and tablets are plenty popular in China! ABI Research has been shown wrong, or the quote was taken in the wrong context. I suggest the comment be removed or reworded to reflect that styluses are needed for handwriting recognition, not that handwriting recognition itself is required in China. --114.245.213.153 (talk) 01:54, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

I agree that this could be removed. If it is to remain, then perhaps it should be rephrased. As it is, the comment is ambiguous as to whether the subject is the Chinese writing system, or some touchscreen technology developed by ABI Research. --128.138.2.155 (talk) 01:16, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

iPhone
Is an iPhone a capacitive-sensing device? Most people are familiar with the iPhone so it is a good idea to give this as an example. Can an end-user tell if a touch-screen is capacitive or resistive? --207.98.200.108 (talk) 22:17, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes it is 65.115.93.130 (talk) 14:20, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

gloved use
I have a Motorola Droid-x phone, which has a capacitive touch screen. When I go for a bicycle ride, I put any phone into a plastic zip lock bag to protect it from sweat. Yesterday, I went for a ride and had full-fingered gloves on, and the phone was inside the ziplock bag. The capacitive touch screen worked just fine, with a layer of plastic and my bicycle gloves between the screen and my skin.

Can anyone explain this? If not, the line stating gloves can not be worn while operating a capacitive touch screen should be removed, or at least a caveat should be added. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.15.245.8 (talk) 20:53, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I work for a company that has many capacitive touch screen displays, and they do indeed work with latex and other gloves on. That line can probably be removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.18.92.5 (talk) 18:13, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

RE: iPhone
Yes, the iPhone's touchscreen is Capacitive. You can normally tell if a screen is resistive or capacitive by the feel. A resistive screen is more "squishy" since it is made up of 2 flexible sheets separated by an air gap. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Danulp02 (talk • contribs) 18:50, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Projected capacitance

 * An X-Y grid is formed either by etching one layer to form a grid pattern of electrodes, or by etching two separate, perpendicular layers of conductive material with parallel lines or tracks to form the grid;

I think the layers are parallel, but the etched lines on them are perpendicular from one layer to the other. Would be good if a native english speaker could clarify this sentence. Inkredibl (talk) 09:52, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

Possible mismatch in 'Projected Capacitance' section
There seems to be a problem in the 'Projected Capacitance' section of 'Design' in the article.

The two terms 'Mutual Capacitive' and 'Self-capacitance' seem to have been assigned the opposite definition.

It would be really good if a professional or someone who properly knows more about this topic to either confirm this correction or correct me on this issue.

Design | Ground plane
Since the parasitic capacitance of the sensor is related to the electric field's (e-field) path to ground, it is important to choose a ground plane that limits the concentration of e-field lines with no conductive object present. I agree about the path to ground but not completely with it is important to choose a ground plane that limits the concentration of e-field lines.

This source seems to say the opposite http://www.mtiinstruments.com/technology/Capacitance.aspx middle of the webpage: 3) Applying Capacitive Probes i. Target Material and Grounding As mentioned above, a capacitance measurement system mimics a parallel plate capacitor with the sensor as one plate and the target being measured the other. To create the electric field between the two plates the target must be made of a conductive material.

maybe it can be true for the push/pull technology at ix. Push/Pull Technology --95.245.136.84 (talk) 16:20, 7 October 2014 (UTC)


 * sorry, I confused this article with displacement sensors
 * anyway, my point is still perhaps somewhat valid, that is, I guess touchpad sensors are some kind of push/pull technology they use for displacement sensors--95.245.136.84 (talk) 18:07, 7 October 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Update Pen Computing section to mention modern capacitive displays with pen support
This section mentions styluses that use rubberized nibs that emulate a human hand, but what about capacitive touch screens designed to work with pens from the get-go such as the iPad with Apple Pencil, Wacom Cintiqs, and Surface Pro? Unlike traditional capacitive styluses these devices are designed to work with pens that offer pressure sensitivity/tilt support and improved accuracy over touch input, intended for handwriting and digital painting. 82.16.49.231 (talk) 20:03, 16 November 2019 (UTC)