Multi-touch

In <a href="/facts/Computing/Kghtm9fX">computing</a>, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a <a href="/facts/Touchpad/5BptytYa">touchpad</a> or <a href="/facts/Touchscreen/zpSKDFpe">touchscreen</a>) to recognize the presence of more than one <a href="/facts/Somatosensory_system/0nhRsBnt">point of contact</a> with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at <a href="/facts/CERN/y1gwRchm">CERN</a>, <a href="/facts/MIT/Xk49vNA8">MIT</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_Toronto/FpGjQNm9">University of Toronto</a>, <a href="/facts/Carnegie_Mellon_University/XKd7L2KA">Carnegie Mellon University</a> and <a href="/facts/Bell_Labs/fKP5Gk0H">Bell Labs</a> in the 1970s. CERN started using multi-touch screens as early as 1976 for the controls of the <a href="/facts/Super_Proton_Synchrotron/3qTKCxnR">Super Proton Synchrotron</a>. Capacitive multi-touch displays were popularized by <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple</a>'s <a href="/facts/IPhone/h5WeKRl9">iPhone</a> in 2007. Multi-touch may be used to implement additional functionality, such as pinch to zoom or to activate certain <a href="/facts/Subroutine/9vFJrg0A">subroutines</a> attached to predefined gestures using <a href="/facts/Gesture_recognition/jly3YdnY">gesture recognition</a>.
Several uses of the term multi-touch resulted from the quick developments in this field, and many companies using the term to market older technology which is called <a href="/facts/Gesture-enhanced_single-touch/EdYUtwEo">gesture-enhanced single-touch</a> or several other terms by other companies and researchers. Several other similar or related terms attempt to differentiate between whether a device can exactly determine or only approximate the location of different points of contact to further differentiate between the various technological capabilities, but they are often used as synonyms in marketing.
Multi-touch is commonly implemented using <a href="/facts/Capacitive_sensing/KqI9zuD4">capacitive sensing</a> technology in <a href="/facts/Mobile_devices/cNS1Rhvg">mobile devices</a> and <a href="/facts/Smart_devices/cnm7E5Vh">smart devices</a>. A capacitive touchscreen typically consists of a capacitive touch <a href="/facts/Sensor/RN8SXbjs">sensor</a>, <a href="/facts/Application-specific_integrated_circuit/YGUXpX50">application-specific integrated circuit</a> (ASIC) controller and <a href="/facts/Digital_signal_processor/YuBXweos">digital signal processor</a> (DSP) <a href="/facts/Semiconductor_device_fabrication/Jd23Mu1z">fabricated</a> from <a href="/facts/CMOS/NJIWYgBl">CMOS</a> (complementary <a href="/facts/Metal%25E2%2580%2593oxide%25E2%2580%2593semiconductor/eTDJT2Km">metal–oxide–semiconductor</a>) technology. A more recent alternative approach is optical touch technology, based on <a href="/facts/Image_sensor/j3GNrRln">image sensor</a> technology.

Multi-touch open-in-new

Multi-touch