Touchscreens have become an integral part of our way of life. When we interact with a product that has a touchscreen, we expect it to execute the action we want without a second thought. It wasn’t too far in the past that the concept of a touchscreen was a dream. Yet, today we see it as a standard feature in many devices.

While most of us use this technology on a daily basis, most of us do not know how it works. How does a screen know what to do when we touch an icon? There are many different types of touchscreen technologies but they all operate based on a similar idea.

Resistive touchscreens

This is the most common and the most affordable type of touchscreen technology today. With resistive technology, screens are covered with an electrically conductive layer. Your fingertip causes the electrical current to change when you touch the screen. The device’s controller receives the information and preforms the action you requested.

Surface wave touchscreen

This form of touchscreen relies on ultrasonic waves that pass across the screen. When your finger touches the screen, you absorb part of the wave. This data is sent to the device’s controller and an action is preformed. Simple right?

Capacitive touchscreens

Capacitive touchscreens most often have the sharpest image quality. Devices using this technology are coated with a material that sends an electrical current across the screen. As the human body is electrical, when you touch the screen, you absorb some of the electric current which disrupts the flow across the device. Just as with the other types of touchscreen, the disruption sends information to the device’s controller. The device then performs the action that you requested, at the touch of a fingertip.

Fortunately, to enjoy touchscreen technology you don’t have to have a deep understanding of it. And you don’t have to be an engineer to realize this technology will become more popular, not less.