However, the first was not as you imagine, and its creation was somewhat complicated and very curious. We are going to find out what date it dates from, as well as its characteristics at that time.
First touch screen (1965)
It was in 1965, when an Englishman named Eric Arthur Johnson It occurred to him to invent something that until now had not been imagined, a screen that works with your fingers, without the need for other accessories. Something that seems completely normal to us today, but at the time was fantasy.
It was in October of that year that his invention was completed and he was able to show it to the world. He detailed it as follows:
“A new input/output device for wired computer systems, sensitive to finger touch, coupled to a cathode ray tube into which the computer can write information. This device, the “touch screen”, allows a very effective coupling between man and machine. »
And so it was the invention worked perfectlybut not with today’s technology, and in a much simpler way, but it served its purpose, which was the important thing.
His experimental model was based on the basic idea that, depending on the circuit (formed of copper wires) manipulated, the computer performed a certain action or decision.
2 years later, in 1967, he published a second article where he explained in much more detail the operation of his prototype, as well as the ability to enter characters without the need for a keyboard.
His system was not like the current one, by touching with his finger, he generated a response in binary format which was translated on the computer. No matter how much pressure.
In 1969, it was granted a patent, although it was not until 20 years later that it really began to be implemented and commercialized. Until then the usefulness and the production of this invention were not interesting.
This discovery came from the need for air traffic controllers to accurately mark a point on a map quickly, because speed in this work is very important. It was then that Eric Arthur Johnson and the Malvern Radar And Technology History Society, one of the most important centers in the country, pooled their knowledge, ideas and budget for the study of this project.
To date, the story of this first touch screen has been told by an exhibition in this center, from which also the idea of implementing this new device on computers was born, which led to the fact that today you are likely to read this while swiping your finger on a mobile.
In summary, this invention that we knew little about marked the history of technology, and a simple project created by a man who loved to investigate, turned out to be used much more than he thought.
