Unit 1.1.3: Input and Output Devices Flashcards
Give examples of manual input devices, and describe their purpose.
. Keyboards and keypads: these are generally used to input characters by the user.
. Pointing devices: with the example being a ‘trackerball’, they have a ball on top of the device that is to be moved by the user. The actual device itself remains stationary, this requiring less desk space.
. Microphones: this takes in sound (audio) as input by the user, which is processed by the computer via a software.
. Touch screens: this technology is used with tablets, watches and mobile phones
. Interactive whiteboards: these are used to convey audiences at meetings or classroom students, the computer output (which can be in the form of annotations).
What are the two common types of barcode systems, and give an example of where they can be used?
One is the ‘Universal Product Code’ version ‘A’ (UPC-A), which can be used in retail and warehousing.
Another is the ‘Code 128’, which can be used in transport and shipment tracking.
How does a barcode achieve its intended purpose?
A scanner reads the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ patterns from a product, which is converted into binary. The binary is then converted into information that represents the product being scanned. This information tends to be the product ID within a database, whereby the product in reality can be clearly identified against its product ID assigned.
What are QR codes and what do they contain?
‘Quick Response’ (QR) codes are 2D barcodes and can be read by smartphones or tablets.
They can contain:
. Links to websites; or
. Information
What are 2D scanners, and give a reason for their use?
These are used to convert hard/paper-copy document or photograph into a computer-readable format.
They are useful for emailing hand-drawn images or text to someone else.
How does 3-D face recognition occur?
In the security industry, security cameras may use face recognition, which requires specialist software that measures and compares the proportions of a person’s face with those stored in a database.
What is a 3D scanner, and give an example of their use?
Many 3D scanners rely on a technology called ‘Tomography’, which basically means to image something in very thin slices (less than 0.1 mm thick).
3D scanners are used in both industrial and medical fields, such as MRI scanning within hospitalisation.
Define a sensor.
A sensor is a hardware device that can take measurements of physical properties from real world surroundings. These measurements are usually a representation of the actual property being measured.
Sensors often collect data in an analogue form and require conversion to digital data to be processed.
Define the term, ‘analogue’, and give an example of a measurement taken in analogue form.
Analogue means that data has no discrete value and the data changes smoothly rather than in exact jumps.
An example includes a thermometer where temperature is represented by the height of the mercury.
