Editing Touchscreen (section)

==History==
{{Cleanup reorganize|section|date=December 2023}}
{{Cleanup section|reason=Unnecessary capitalization|date=January 2024}}[[File:CERN-Stumpe Capacitance Touchscreen.jpg|thumb|The prototype<ref>{{Cite journal|publisher=CERN Courrier|date=31 March 2010|title=The first capacitative touch screens at CERN|url=http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/42092|access-date=2010-05-25|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904044213/http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/42092|archive-date=4 September 2010}}</ref> x-y mutual capacitance touchscreen (left) developed at [[CERN]]<ref>{{Cite journal|publisher=CERN|author=Stumpe, Bent |date=16 March 1977|title=A new principle for x-y touch system|url=http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1266588/files/StumpeMar77.pdf|access-date=2010-05-25|author-link=Bent Stumpe}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|publisher=CERN|author=Bent Stumpe|date=6 February 1978|title=Experiments to find a manufacturing process for an x-y touch screen|url=http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1266589/files/StumpeFeb78.pdf|access-date=2010-05-25|author-link=Bent Stumpe}}</ref> in 1977 by [[Frank Beck (computer scientist)|Frank Beck]], a British electronics engineer, for the control room of CERN's accelerator SPS ([[Super Proton Synchrotron]]). This was a further development of the [[Capacitive sensing|self-capacitance screen]] (right), also developed by [[Bent Stumpe|Stumpe]] at CERN<ref>{{Cite report|publisher=CERN|author-last1=Beck|author-first1=Frank|author-last2=Stumpe|author-first2=Bent|date=May 24, 1973|title=Two devices for operator interaction in the central control of the new CERN accelerator|url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/186242/|docket=CERN-73-06|access-date=2017-09-14}}</ref> in 1972.]]

One predecessor of the modern touchscreen includes stylus based systems.

1946 DIRECT LIGHT PEN - A patent was filed by [[Philco|Philco Company]] for a stylus designed for sports telecasting which, when placed against an intermediate [[cathode-ray tube]] (CRT) display would amplify and add to the original signal. Effectively, this was used for temporarily drawing arrows or circles onto a live television broadcast, as described in {{Cite patent|country=US|number=2487641A|title=Electronic pointer for television images|fdate=1946-09-07|gdate=1949-11-08|invent1=Denk|inventor1-first=William E}}.

1962 OPTICAL - The first version of a touchscreen which operated independently of the light produced from the screen was patented by [[AT&T Corporation]] {{Cite patent|country=US|number=3016421A|title=Electrographic transmitter|fdate=1960-11-30|gdate=1962-01-09|invent1=Harmon|inventor1-first=Leon D}}. This touchscreen utilized a matrix of collimated lights shining orthogonally across the touch surface. When a beam is interrupted by a stylus, the [[photodetector]]s which no longer are receiving a signal can be used to determine where the interruption is. Later iterations of matrix based touchscreens built upon this by adding more emitters and detectors to improve resolution, pulsing emitters to improve optical [[Signal-to-noise ratio|signal to noise ratio]], and a nonorthogonal matrix to remove shadow readings when using multi-touch.

1963 INDIRECT LIGHT PEN - Later inventions built upon this system to free telewriting styli from their mechanical bindings. By transcribing what a user draws onto a computer, it could be saved for future use. See {{Cite patent|country=US|number=3089918A|title=Telewriting apparatus|fdate=1960-09-09|gdate=1963-05-14|invent1=Graham|inventor1-first=Robert E}}.

1965 CAPACITANCE AND RESISTANCE - The first finger driven touchscreen was developed by Eric Johnson, of the [[Royal Radar Establishment]] located in [[Malvern, Worcestershire|Malvern]], England, who described his work on capacitive touchscreens in a short article published in 1965<ref>{{cite journal|last=Johnson|first=E. A.|title=Touch Display - A novel input/output device for computers|journal=Electronics Letters|year=1965|volume=1|issue=8|pages=219–220|doi=10.1049/el:19650200|bibcode=1965ElL.....1..219J}}</ref><ref name="mraths-2016">{{cite web|url=http://mraths.org.uk/?page_id=531|title=1965 - The Touchscreen|publisher=Malvern Radar and Technology History Society|year=2016|access-date=24 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131150535/https://mraths.org.uk/?page_id=531|archive-date=31 January 2018}}</ref> and then more fully—with photographs and diagrams—in an article published in 1967.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Johnson|first=E. A.|title=Touch Displays: A Programmed Man-Machine Interface|journal=Ergonomics|year=1967|volume=10|issue=2|pages=271–277|doi=10.1080/00140136708930868}}</ref>

MID-60s ULTRASONIC CURTAIN - {{anchor|Touchinput}}Another precursor of touchscreens, an ultrasonic-curtain-based pointing device in front of a terminal display, had been developed by a team around {{ill|Rainer Mallebrein|de}} at [[Telefunken]] {{lang|de|Konstanz}} for an air traffic control system.<ref name="Steinbach_2018" /> In 1970, this evolved into a device named "Touchinput-{{lang|de|Einrichtung}}" ("touch input facility") for the SIG&nbsp;50 terminal utilizing a conductively coated glass screen in front of the display.<ref name="Ebner_2018" /><ref name="Steinbach_2018" /> This was patented in 1971 and the patent was granted a couple of years later<!-- TBD: in 1974 or 1975 -->.<ref name="Ebner_2018" /><ref name="Steinbach_2018" /> The same team had already invented and marketed the {{lang|de|[[Rollkugel (mouse)|Rollkugel]]}} mouse RKS&nbsp;100-86 for the SIG&nbsp;100-86 a couple of years earlier.<ref name="Ebner_2018" />

1968 CAPACITANCE - The application of touch technology for air traffic control was described in an article published in 1968.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Orr|first1=N. W.|last2=Hopkins|first2=V. D.|title=The Role of Touch Display in Air Traffic Control|journal=The Controller|year=1968|volume=7|pages=7–9}}</ref> [[Frank Beck (computer scientist)|Frank Beck]] and [[Bent Stumpe]], engineers from [[CERN]] (European Organization for Nuclear Research), developed a transparent touchscreen in the early 1970s,<ref name="design_news">{{cite journal |last1=Lowe |first1=J. F. |date=18 November 1974 |title=Computer creates custom control panel |journal=Design News |pages=54–55}}</ref> based on Stumpe's work at a television factory in the early 1960s. Then manufactured by CERN, and shortly after by industry partners,<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Stumpe |first1=Bent |last2=Sutton |first2=Christine|date=1 June 2010 |title=CERN touch screen |url=https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/june-2010/cern-touch-screen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116094427/https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/june-2010/cern-touch-screen |archive-date=2016-11-16 |magazine=Symmetry Magazine |publisher=A joint Fermilab/SLAC publication |access-date=16 November 2016}}</ref> it was put to use in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1248908|title=Another of CERN's many inventions! - CERN Document Server|work=CERN Document Server|access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref>

1972 OPTICAL - A group at the [[University of Illinois]] filed for a patent on an optical touchscreen<ref>Ebeling, F.; R. Johnson; R. Goldhor. "Infrared light beam x-y position encoder for display devices", {{patent|US|3775560}}, granted November 27, 1973.</ref> that became a standard part of the [[Magnavox]] Plato IV Student Terminal and thousands were built for this purpose. These touchscreens had a crossed array of 16×16 [[infrared]] position sensors, each composed of an [[LED]] on one edge of the screen and a matched [[phototransistor]] on the other edge, all mounted in front of a monochrome [[plasma display]] panel. This arrangement could sense any fingertip-sized opaque object in close proximity to the screen.

1973 MULTI-TOUCH CAPACITANCE - In 1973, Beck and Stumpe published another article describing their capacitive touchscreen. This indicated that it was capable of multi-touch but this feature was purposely inhibited, presumably as this was not considered useful at the time ("A...variable...called BUT changes value from zero to five when a button is touched. The touching of other buttons would give other non-zero values of BUT but this is protected against by software" (Page 6, section 2.6).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cds.cern.ch/record/186242/files/CERN-73-06.pdf|title=CERN-73-6|access-date=23 Aug 2023}}</ref> "Actual contact between a finger and the capacitor is prevented by a thin sheet of plastic" (Page 3, section 2.3).

1977 RESISTIVE - An American company, Elographics – in partnership with Siemens – began work on developing a transparent implementation of an existing opaque touchpad technology, U.S. patent {{abbr|No.|number}}&nbsp;3,911,215, October 7, 1975, which had been developed by Elographics' founder [[George Samuel Hurst]].<ref name="HurstPat">{{cite web|last=USPTO|title=DISCRIMINATING CONTACT SENSOR|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US3911215|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519034535/http://www.google.com/patents/US3911215|archive-date=19 May 2013|access-date=6 April 2013}}</ref> The resulting resistive technology touch screen was first shown on the [[1982 World's Fair|World's Fair]] at [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |last=Emerson |first=Lewis |date=December 13, 2010 |title="G. Samuel Hurst -- the 'Tom Edison' of ORNL", December 14 2010 |url=https://www.oakridger.com/story/opinion/columns/2010/12/14/g-samuel-hurst-tom-edison/63344071007/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201163229/https://www.oakridger.com/story/opinion/columns/2010/12/14/g-samuel-hurst-tom-edison/63344071007/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 1, 2022 |access-date=2010-12-13 |website=G. Samuel Hurst -- the 'Tom Edison' of ORNL}}</ref>

1982 MULTI-TOUCH CAMERA - [[Multi-touch]] technology began in 1982, when the [[University of Toronto]]'s Input Research Group developed the first human-input multi-touch system, using a frosted-glass panel with a camera placed behind the glass.

1983 OPTICAL - An optical touchscreen was used on the [[HP-150]] starting in 1983. The HP 150 was one of the world's earliest commercial touchscreen computers.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-THdG5gVTw#t=46s The H.P. Touch Computer (1983)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824003000/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-THdG5gVTw|date=2017-08-24}}. YouTube (2008-02-19). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.</ref> HP mounted their [[infrared]] [[transmitter]]s and receivers around the bezel of a 9-inch [[Sony]] cathode ray tube (CRT).

1983 MULTI-TOUCH FORCE SENSING TOUCHSCREEN - Bob Boie of AT&T Bell Labs, used capacitance to track the mechanical changes in thickness of a soft, deformable overlay membrane when one or more physical objects interact with it;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US4526043A/en|title=Conformable Tactile Sensor|access-date=2023-01-29}}</ref> the flexible surface being easily replaced, if damaged by these objects. The patent states "the tactile sensor arrangements may be utilized as a touch screen". 

Many derivative sources<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/07/20/a-brief-history-of-touchscreen-technology-from-the-iphone-to-multi-user-videowalls/|title=a-brief-history-of-touchscreen-technology-from-the-iphone-to-multi-user-videowalls/|website=[[Forbes]] |access-date=25 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/from-touch-displays-to-the-surface-a-brief-history-of-touchscreen-technology/|title=from-touch-displays-to-the-surface-a-brief-history-of-touchscreen-technology|date=4 April 2013 |access-date=25 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zytronic.co.uk/insights/article/history-of-touchscreen-technology/|title=history-of-touchscreen-technology|date=6 June 2018 |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref> retrospectively describe Boie as making a major advancement with his touchscreen technology; but no evidence has been found that a rugged multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, that could sense through a rigid, protective overlay - the sort later required for a mobile phone, was ever developed or patented by Boie.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://patents.justia.com/inventor/robert-a-boie|title=patents.justia.com/inventor/robert-a-boie|access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref> Many of these citations rely on anecdotal evidence from [[Bill Buxton]] of Bell Labs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billbuxton.com/inputTimeline.html|title=Multi-touch systems that I have known and loved|access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref> However, Bill Buxton did not have much luck getting his hands on this technology. As he states in the citation: "Our assumption (false, as it turned out) was that the Boie technology would become available to us in the near future. Around 1990 I took a group from Xerox to see this technology it [sic] since I felt that it would be appropriate for the user interface of our large document processors. This did not work out". 

UP TO 1984 CAPACITANCE - Although, as cited earlier, Johnson is credited with developing the first finger operated capacitive and resistive touchscreens in 1965, these worked by directly touching wires across the front of the screen.<ref name="mraths-2016"/>
Stumpe and Beck developed a self-capacitance touchscreen in 1972, and a mutual capacitance touchscreen in 1977. Both these devices could only sense the finger by direct touch or through a thin insulating film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cds.cern.ch/record/186242/files/CERN-73-06.pdf|title=CERN-73-6|access-date=23 Aug 2023}}</ref> This was 11 microns thick according to Stumpe's 1977 report.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1266588/files/StumpeMar77.pdf|title=StumpeMar77|access-date=20 Aug 2023}}</ref>

1984 TOUCHPAD - [[Fujitsu]] released a [[touchpad|touch pad]] for the [[Fujitsu Micro 16s|Micro 16]] to accommodate the complexity of [[kanji]] characters, which were stored as [[Tile engine|tiled]] graphics.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbh1XP4kCT4 Japanese PCs (1984)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707091011/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbh1XP4kCT4|date=2017-07-07}} (12:21), ''[[Computer Chronicles]]''</ref>

1986 GRAPHIC TABLET - A graphic touch tablet was released for the [[Sega AI Computer]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Software that takes games seriously|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RI51dkpbcGoC&pg=PA34|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131150533/https://books.google.com/books?id=RI51dkpbcGoC&pg=PA34|url-status=live|magazine=[[New Scientist]]|date=March 26, 1987|archive-date=January 31, 2018|publisher=[[Reed Business Information]]|page=34|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>[http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2013/04/102723432-05-01-acc.pdf#page=87 Technology Trends: 2nd Quarter 1986] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015100102/http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2013/04/102723432-05-01-acc.pdf|date=2016-10-15}}, ''Japanese Semiconductor Industry Service - Volume II: Technology & Government''</ref>

EARLY 80s EVALUATION FOR AIRCRAFT - Touch-sensitive [[Control display unit|control-display unit]]s (CDUs) were evaluated for commercial aircraft flight decks in the early 1980s. Initial research showed that a touch interface would reduce pilot workload as the crew could then select waypoints, functions and actions, rather than be "head down" typing latitudes, longitudes, and waypoint codes on a keyboard. An effective integration of this technology was aimed at helping flight crews maintain a high level of [[Situation awareness|situational awareness]] of all major aspects of the vehicle operations including the flight path, the functioning of various aircraft systems, and moment-to-moment human interactions.<ref>Biferno, M. A.; Stanley, D. L. (1983). ''The Touch-Sensitive Control/Display Unit: A Promising Computer Interface''. Technical Paper 831532, Aerospace Congress & Exposition, Long Beach, CA: Society of Automotive Engineers.</ref>

EARLY 80s EVALUATION FOR CARS - also, in the early 1980s, [[General Motors]] tasked its [[Delco Electronics]] division with a project aimed at replacing an automobile's non-essential functions (i.e. other than [[throttle]], [[Transmission (mechanics)|transmission]], [[Brake|braking]], and [[steering]]) from mechanical or electro-mechanical systems with [[solid state (electronics)|solid state]] alternatives wherever possible. The finished device was dubbed the ECC for "Electronic Control Center", a [[digital computer]] and [[software]] control system hardwired to various [[peripheral]] [[sensors]], [[servomechanism]]s, [[solenoids]], [[Antenna (radio)|antenna]] and a [[monochrome]] CRT touchscreen that functioned both as display and sole method of input.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/index.php/1986,_Electronics_Developed_for_Lotus_Active_Suspension_Technology|title=1986, Electronics Developed for Lotus Active Suspension Technology - Generations of GM|publisher=History.gmheritagecenter.com|access-date=2013-01-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617155548/http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/index.php/1986,_Electronics_Developed_for_Lotus_Active_Suspension_Technology|archive-date=2013-06-17}}</ref> The ECC replaced the traditional mechanical [[Vehicle audio|stereo]], fan, heater and [[automobile air conditioning|air conditioner]] controls and displays, and was capable of providing very detailed and specific information about the vehicle's cumulative and current operating status in [[real-time computer graphics|real time]]. The ECC was standard equipment on the 1985–1989 [[Buick Riviera#Seventh generation (1986–1993)|Buick Riviera]] and later the 1988–1989 [[Buick Reatta]], but was unpopular with consumers—partly due to the [[technophobia]] of some traditional [[Buick]] customers, but mostly because of costly technical problems suffered by the ECC's touchscreen which would render climate control or stereo operation impossible.<ref>{{cite web|last=Badal|first=Jaclyne|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121390461372989357|title=When Design Goes Bad|publisher=Online.wsj.com|date=2008-06-23|access-date=2013-01-07|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316094403/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121390461372989357|archive-date=2016-03-16}}</ref>

1985 GRAPHIC TABLET - [[Sega]] released the Terebi Oekaki, also known as the Sega Graphic Board, for the [[SG-1000]] [[video game console]] and [[SC-3000]] [[home computer]]. It consisted of a plastic pen and a plastic board with a transparent window where pen presses are detected. It was used primarily with a drawing software application.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smspower.org/Articles/TerebiOekaki|title=Terebi Oekaki / Sega Graphic Board - Articles - SMS Power!|access-date=29 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723170717/http://www.smspower.org/Articles/TerebiOekaki|archive-date=23 July 2015}}</ref>

1985 MULTI-TOUCH CAPACITANCE - The University of Toronto group, including Bill Buxton, developed a multi-touch tablet that used capacitance rather than bulky camera-based optical sensing systems (see [[Multi-touch#History of multi-touch|History of multi-touch]]).

1985 USED FOR POINT OF SALE - The first commercially available graphical [[point of sale|point-of-sale]] (POS) software was demonstrated on the 16-bit [[Atari 520ST]] color computer. It featured a color touchscreen widget-driven interface.<ref>[http://www.atarimagazines.com/startv2n6/gettingdowntobusiness.html The ViewTouch restaurant system] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909074923/http://www.atarimagazines.com/startv2n6/gettingdowntobusiness.html|date=2009-09-09}} by Giselle Bisson</ref> The ViewTouch<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.viewtouch.com|title=The World Leader in GNU-Linux Restaurant POS Software|publisher=Viewtouch.com|access-date=2013-01-07|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717023914/http://www.viewtouch.com/|archive-date=2012-07-17}}</ref> POS software was first shown by its developer, Gene Mosher, at the Atari Computer demonstration area of the Fall [[COMDEX]] expo in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Comdex_1986.png|title=File:Comdex 1986.png|publisher=Wikimedia Commons|access-date=2013-01-07|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121220205201/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Comdex_1986.png|archive-date=2012-12-20|date=2012-09-11}}</ref>

1987 CAPACITANCE TOUCH KEYS - Casio launched the [[Casio PB-1000]] pocket computer with a touchscreen consisting of a 4×4 matrix, resulting in 16 touch areas in its small LCD graphic screen.

1988 SELECT ON "LIFT-OFF" - Touchscreens had a bad reputation of being imprecise until 1988. Most user-interface books would state that touchscreen selections were limited to targets larger than the average finger. At the time, selections were done in such a way that a target was selected as soon as the finger came over it, and the corresponding action was performed immediately. Errors were common, due to parallax or calibration problems, leading to user frustration. "Lift-off strategy"<ref name=Potter1988>{{cite conference|last1=Potter|first1=R.|last2=Weldon|first2=L.|last3=Shneiderman|first3=B.|title=Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '88|chapter=Improving the accuracy of touch screens: an experimental evaluation of three strategies|year=1988|conference=Proc. of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI '88|location=Washington, DC|pages=27–32|doi=10.1145/57167.57171|isbn=0201142376|chapter-url=http://www.cs.umd.edu/localphp/hcil/tech-reports-search.php?number=88-04|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208121730/http://www.cs.umd.edu/localphp/hcil/tech-reports-search.php?number=88-04|archive-date=2015-12-08}}</ref> was introduced by researchers at the [[University of Maryland Human–Computer Interaction Lab]] (HCIL). As users touch the screen, feedback is provided as to what will be selected: users can adjust the position of the finger, and the action takes place only when the finger is lifted off the screen. This allowed the selection of small targets, down to a single pixel on a 640×480 [[Video Graphics Array]] (VGA) screen (a standard of that time).

1988 WORLD EXPO - From April to October 1988, the city of [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]] hosted [[World Expo 88|Expo 88]], whose theme was "leisure in the age of technology". To support the event and provide information to expo visitors, Telecom Australia (now [[Telstra]]) erected 8 kiosks around the expo site with a total of 56 touch screen information consoles, being specially modified [[Sony]] [[Videotex]] Workstations. Each system was also equipped with a videodisc player, speakers, and a 20 MB hard drive. In order to keep up-to-date information during the event, the database of visitor information was updated and remotely transferred to the computer terminals each night. Using the touch screens, visitors were able to find information about the exposition’s rides, attractions, performances, facilities, and the surrounding areas. Visitors could also select between information displayed in English and Japanese; a reflection of Australia’s overseas tourist market in the 1980s. It is worth noting that Telecom’s Expo Info system was based on an earlier system employed at [[Expo 86]] in [[Vancouver]], [[Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Simon |date=22 February 2021 |title=Together we'll show the world: Telecom Expo Info |url=https://www.naa.gov.au/blog/together-well-show-world-telecom-expo-info |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240909192836/https://www.naa.gov.au/blog/together-well-show-world-telecom-expo-info |archive-date=9 September 2024 |access-date=10 September 2024 |website=National Archives of Australia (NAA)}}</ref>

1990 SINGLE AND MULTI-TOUCH GESTURES - Sears et al. (1990)<ref name=Sears1990>{{cite book|last1=Sears|first1=Andrew|last2=Plaisant|first2=Catherine|author2-link=Catherine Plaisant|last3=Shneiderman|first3=Ben|author3-link=Ben Shneiderman|date=June 1990|contribution=A new era for high-precision touchscreens|title=Advances in Human-Computer Interaction|volume=3|editor1-last=Hartson|editor1-first=R.|editor2-last=Hix|editor2-first=D.|publisher=Ablex (1992)|number=1–33 HCIL–90–01, CS–TR–2487, CAR–TR–506|url=http://www.cs.umd.edu/local-cgi-bin/hcil/rr.pl?number=90-01|isbn=978-0-89391-751-7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009003729/http://www.cs.umd.edu/local-cgi-bin/hcil/rr.pl?number=90-01|archive-date=October 9, 2014}}</ref> gave a review of academic research on single and multi-touch [[human–computer interaction]] of the time, describing gestures such as rotating knobs, adjusting sliders, and swiping the screen to activate a switch (or a U-shaped gesture for a toggle switch). The HCIL team developed and studied small touchscreen keyboards (including a study that showed users could type at 25 {{abbr|wpm|words per minute}} on a touchscreen keyboard), aiding their introduction on mobile devices. They also designed and implemented multi-touch gestures such as selecting a range of a line, connecting objects, and a "tap-click" gesture to select while maintaining location with another finger.

1990 TOUCHSCREEN SLIDER AND TOGGLE SWITCHES - HCIL demonstrated a touchscreen slider,<ref name="Touchscreen slider 1991 video">{{cite web|title=1991 video of the HCIL touchscreen toggle switches (University of Maryland)|website = [[YouTube]]| date=30 November 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFWbdxicvK0|access-date=3 December 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313060101/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFWbdxicvK0|archive-date=13 March 2016}}</ref> which was later cited as prior art in the [[lock screen]] patent litigation between Apple and other touchscreen mobile phone vendors (in relation to {{US patent|7657849}}).<ref name=UKChannel4News2011>{{cite AV media|title=Apple touch-screen patent war comes to the UK (2011)|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/apple-touch-screen-patent-war-comes-to-the-uk|access-date=3 December 2015|time=1:24 min in video|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208102157/http://www.channel4.com/news/apple-touch-screen-patent-war-comes-to-the-uk|archive-date=8 December 2015}}</ref>

1991 INERTIAL CONTROL - From 1991 to 1992, the [[Sun Microsystems|Sun]] Star7 prototype [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]] implemented a touchscreen with [[inertial scrolling]].<ref>{{YouTube|id=1CsTH9S79qI&t=4m28s|title=Star7 Demo}}</ref>

1993 CAPACITANCE MOUSE / KEYPAD - Bob Boie of AT&T Bell Labs, patented a simple mouse or keypad that capacitively sensed just one finger through a thin insulator.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/021748605/publication/US5463388A?q=US5463388|title=Computer mouse or keyboard input device utilizing capacitive sensors|access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> Although not claimed or even mentioned in the patent, this technology could potentially have been used as a capacitance touchscreen.

1993 FIRST RESISTIVE TOUCHSCREEN PHONE - IBM released the [[IBM Simon]], which is the first touchscreen phone.

EARLY 90s ABANDONED GAME CONTROLLER - An early attempt at a [[handheld game console]] with touchscreen [[game controller|controls]] was [[Sega]]'s intended successor to the [[Game Gear]], though the device was ultimately shelved and never released due to the expensive cost of touchscreen technology in the early 1990s.

2004 MOBILE MULTI-TOUCH CAPACITANCE PATENT - Apple patents its multi-touch capacitive touchscreen for mobile devices.

2004 VIDEO GAMES WITH TOUCHSCREENS - Touchscreens were not popularly used for video games until the release of the [[Nintendo DS]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://retro.ign.com/articles/974/974695p7.html|title=IGN Presents the History of SEGA|page=7|website=IGN|author=Travis Fahs|date=April 21, 2009|access-date=2011-04-27|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204000434/http://retro.ign.com/articles/974/974695p7.html|archive-date=February 4, 2012}}</ref>

2007 MOBILE PHONE WITH CAPACITANCE - The first [[mobile phone]] with a capacitive touchscreen was [[LG Prada]], released in May 2007 (which was before the first [[iPhone (1st generation)|iPhone]] released).<ref name="engadgetmobileke850">{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2006/12/15/the-lg-ke850-touchable-chocolate/|title=The LG KE850: touchable chocolate|website=Engadget|date=15 December 2006 }}</ref> By 2009, touchscreen-enabled mobile phones were becoming trendy and quickly gaining popularity in both basic and advanced devices.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/touch-screen-market-to-hit-9b-by-2015/ | title=Touch Screen Market to Hit $9B by 2015 | website=[[CBS News]] | date=21 May 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://phys.org/news/2009-10-screen-gamble-technology.html | title=Touch screen gamble: Which technology to use }}</ref> In Quarter-4 2009 for the first time, a majority of smartphones (i.e. not all mobile phones) shipped with touchscreens over non-touch.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/majority-smart-phones-now-have-touch-screens | title=Canalys - the leading global technology market analyst firm }}</ref>

2015 FORCE SENSING TOUCHSCREENS - Until recently,{{When|date=November 2018}} most consumer touchscreens could only sense one point of contact at a time, and few have had the capability to sense how hard one is touching. This has changed with the commercialization of multi-touch technology, and the [[Apple Watch]] being released with a force-sensitive display in April 2015.