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Computer Graphic Part-1

Content:

1. Introduction
2. Components of computer graphics
3. Application of computer graphics
4. Graphics primitives
5. Direct view storage tube
6. Flat panel display
7. Interactive devices

INTRODUCTION

It is a rapidly evolving field. Until the past two decades, graphics was mainly the
realm of artists. Now, computer graphics has touched the lives of not only artists
and engineers, but also the common man in various ways.

By graphics we will refer to any sketch, drawing special artwork or other material
to pictorially depict an object or process or otherwise convey information, as a
supplement to or instead of written descriptions. The sketch may be cartoon or
landscape building, electrical network or of the human anatomy. It may be just a
few regular lines or 2D or 3D drawing. The graphics may also include text in
various sizes and shapes.

In computer graphics, pictures or graphics objects are displayed as a collection

of individual picture elements called pixels (picture element). The pixel is the
smallest addressable screen element. It is the tiny piece of the display screen
which we can control. The control is attained by setting the intensity and color
of the pixel which compose the screen.

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COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Interactive computer graphics consists of three components such as

Digital memory buffer

TV monitor
Display controller

Using these components, we are able to see the output on the screen in the
form of pixels.

a. Digital Memory Buffer (Frame Buffer)

This is place where images or picture are stored as an array (matrix of 0 and
1, 0 represents darkness and 1 represents image or picture).
Frame buffer is the Video RAM (V-RAM) that is used to hold or map the image
displayed on the screen. The sum of memory need to hold the image depends
primarily on the resolution of the screen image and also the color depth used
per pixel. The formula to compute how much vide memory is required at a given
resolution and bit depth is quite simple.
𝑛𝑥 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)𝑥 2
Me = 1 + + + ⋯ Memory is MB
1! 2!
𝑋 − 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 × 𝑌 − 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 × 𝐵𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑙
=
8 × 1024 × 1024

frame buffer is implemented using rotating random access semiconductor memory.

However frame buffer also can be implemented using shift registers.

b. TV Monitor
It helps us to view the display and they make use of CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)

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c. Display Controller
It is an interface between digital memory buffer and TV monitor. The main
function of this is to pass the contents of frame buffer to the monitor.

APPLICATION OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Today, computer graphics is used in a variety of fields ranging from routine
everyday activities to very specialized area in widely different fields, including
business, industry and engineers medicine, government work, education and
training, advertising research art and entertainment and communication in general.
Some of the major application areas are listed below
1. Computer Aided Design/Drafting (CAD and CADD)
2. Presentation graphics
3. Entertainment
4. Computer Aided Learning (CAL)
5. Computer Art
6. Graphical user Interface (GUI)
7. Medical applications
8. Geographical information systems (GIS)

Computer aided Design/Drafting (CAD and CADD)

A major use of computer graphics is in design process, particularly for engineering

applications such as building and other structural design, mechanical and industrial
design as well as the design of manufacturing processes, including that of
automobiles and aircraft, ships and spacecraft and many other products.

For some design applications, objects are first displayed in a wire frame outline
from that shows the overall shape and internal features of objects. Wireframe
shows allow designees to quickly see the effects of interactive adjustments to
design shapes.

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It packages range from 2D vector-based drafting systems to 3D solid and surface
modellers. Latest CAD packages can regularly allow rotations in three dimensions,
allowing viewing of a designed object from any desired angle, even from the
inside looking out. Few CAD software is capable of dynamic mathematical
modelling, in which case it may be marketed as CADD (computer- aided design
and drafting).

Presentation Graphics

Here “Presentation”, refers to the act of presenting important points of a topic to

a. The audience for a lecture

b. Potential customers for a new product or service etc.

The presentation of data in a condensed, visual, convenient from has always

been an aid to understanding and promoting any idea. Graphics become a vital
part of presenting idea and promoting organizations even in non-business
endeavors such as at academic seminars or for an proposals for new construction
and so on. Computer graphics has raised such presentations to an art form by
making the visuals attractive and colorful without the special artistic skills through
slides, transparencies, printout on paper video displays and animation.

Entertainment

Computer graphics methods are used in marketing music videos, games, cartoon
movies, television shows etc. The graphics scenes are showed by themselves
and sometimes graphics objects are combined with the actors and live scenes.

Computer-Aided Learning (CAL)

Computer-generated models of physical financial and economic systems are used

as educational aids. Needless to say, computer graphic tools such as Microsoft
Power Point are very heavily used in teaching seminar and conference

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presentations on almost very subject at every level. The nature of the computer
graphics is a vital component of the teaching learning process.

Computer Act

Computer graphics process are used in both fine art and commercial art
applications. The ability to create any shape and play with any color that one
can imagine through the medium of the computer has given the artist a wonderful
palate and paintbrush for use on an unlimited canvas.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

One cannot use any package of recent times without observing the many graphic
items present and available on the screen to guide the user. Most software
developed today must have a GUI for user friendly and interactive operation.

A vital component is window manager that allows a user to display multiple-

window areas. Every window can carry a different process that can contain
graphical or non-graphical displays.

Medical Applications

Computer graphics has become a powerful tool of diagnosis and treatment in the
hands of doctors. Two-dimension images of cross-sections of the human body or
specific organs are product by a CAT (Computerized Axial Tomography) scan.
Tomography is a technique of X-ray photography (CT) and position emission
tomography (PET) use projection methods to reconstruct cross sections from
digital data. These techniques are also used to monitor internal function and
show cross sections during surgery.

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Geographical information systems (GIS)

It refers simply to a recent technique for the assembly, integration, tabular and
graphic databases about natural and man-made features and facilities for purpose
of better understanding more efficient analysis and faster decision making.

IMAGE PROCESSING

Difference between Image processing and Computer Graphics

Process used in computer graphics and image processing overlap, the two areas
are concerned with fundamentally different operations. Computer is used to create
a picture. Image processing applies techniques to update or interpret existing
pictures such as photographs

Two principal applications of image processing are:-

a. Improving picture quality.

b. Machine perception of visual information, as used in robotics.

To appeal methods, we first digitize a photograph and other pictures into an

image file. Then digital methods can be applied to modify picture parts, to
enhance color or to improve the quality of shading.

A revolutionary development in this field is interactive image processing in which

human input via graphical interaction techniques and menus assists to regulate
various sub processes while transaction of images are displayed on the screen.
For example scanned in images or photographs are electronically enhanced by
touching, cropping and combining with other images, some application of digital
image processing are:

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a. Medical image processing
b. Face detection
c. Microscopic image processing
d. Pattern detection etc.

GRAPHICS PRIMITIVES

DISPLAY DEVICES

The important part in a PC is to display system. The systems where the graphics
are rendered in the console screen of the computer. It is responsible for graphic
display. It may be attached with a PC to display character, picture and video
output. Some of the common types of display systems are

a. Raster scan display

b. Random scan displays
c. Direct view storage tube
d. Flat panel displays

The display systems are often referred to as Video Monitor or Video Display unit.
The most common video monitor that normally comes with a PC is the Raster
Scan type. However, every display system has three parts:

i. Display adapter, that creates and hold the image information.

ii. Monitor, which display that information.
iii. Cable, that carries the image data between display adapter and the monitor.

The display devices are also known as output devices. The most commonly used
output device in a graphics system is video monitor and the operation of most
video monitors is based on the Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) design.

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CATHODE RAY TUBE (CRT)

The simplest version of a cathode ray tube consists of a gas-filled glass tube in
which two metal plates, one negatively changes (the cathode) and the other
positively charged (the anode), have been place. When a very large voltage is
placed across the electrodes, the neutral gas inside the tube will ionize into
conducting plasma, and a current will flow as elections travel from the cathode
to the other side.

It is a type of analog display device. They are special, electronic vacuum tubes
that use focused electron beams to display images. Through tubes of this type
are used for many purposes. They are famous for their use in such things as
televisions, oscilloscopes, computer and radar displays, and automated teller
machines. They are used in video game equipment.

It has cathode or negatively charged terminal. In this, terminal is heated filament,

much like the filament seen in a light bulb. The filament contained inside a
vacuum with a glass tube. Inside the tube, a beam of electrons is allowed to
flow from the filament into the vacuum. The flow of the electrons is natural, not
forced.

When used inside a television set, a CRT’s electrons are concentrated in a light
beam by positively charged terminal, called an anode. An accelerating anode is
then use to speed up the movement of the electrons. These fast-moving electrons
fly through the tube’s vacuum hitting the phosphor-coated screen and making it
glow.

They are found in oscilloscopes, and similar devices are used in TV picture tubes
and computer displays. The name goes back to the early 1900s. Cathode-ray
tubes use an electron bean; before the basic nature of the beam was understood,

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it was called cathode ray because it originated from the cathode (negative
electrode) of a vacuum.

Below figure is a schematic diagram of the principle elements of a cathode-ray

tube. The interior of the tube is a very good vacume, with a pressure of around
0.01 Pa (10-7 atm) or less. At any greater pressure, collisions of electrons with
air molecules would scatter the electron beam excessively.

The cathode, at the left end in the figure, is raised to a high temperature by the
heater, and electrons evaporate from the surface of the cathode. The accelerating
anode, with a small hole at its center, is maintained at a high potential V 1, of
the order of 1 to 20 kV, relative to the cathode. This potential difference gives
rise to an electric field directed from right to left in the region between the
accelerating anode and the cathode. Elections passing through the hole in the
anode from an arrow beam and travel with constant horizontal velocity from the
anode to the fluorescent screen. The area where the electrons strike the screen
glows brightly. The control grid regulates the number of electrons that reach the
anode and hence the brightness of the grid regulates the number of electrons
that reach the anode and hence the brightness of the spot on the screen. The
focusing anode ensures that electrons leaving the cathode in slightly different
directions are focused down to a narrow beam and all arrive at the same spot
on the screen. The assembly of cathode, control grid, focusing anode, and
accelerating electrode is called electron gun.

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The beam of electrons passes between two pairs of deflection plates. An electric
field between the second pair divert them vertically. If no diverting fields are
present, the electrons travel in a straight line from the hole in the accelerating
anode to the center of the screen, where they produce a bright spot.

The electron gun fixed at the base plate of the CRT focuses electron beam on
the CRT plate which is coated with phosphor bronze. The electron beam form
the gun sequentially scans every pixel of the raster. In the process the beam
hits a pixel and the phosphor dot of the pixel gets excited. As the electron beam
moves to the immediate next dot, the currently excited dot starts emitting light
energy in order to come back to its original static state. As the light emitted by
the phosphor fades very rapidly, some method is needed for maintaining the
screen picture. One way to keep the phosphor glowing is to redrawn the picture
repeatedly by quickly directing the electron beam back over the same points.
This type of display is a refresh CRT.

THE BEAM-PENETRATION, CTR

The normal CTR can generate images of only single colour due to limitations of
its phosphor. A colour CRT device uses a multilayer phosphor and achieves
clolour control by modulating a normally constant parameter, namely the beam
accelerating potential. The screen is coated with a layer of green phosphor over
which a layer of red phosphor is deposited. When a low potential electron beam
strikes the screen only there red phosphor is excited thus producing a red trace.
A higher velocity beam will penetrate into the green phosphor increasing the
green component of the light output.

By varying the beam potential different combinations of red and green light can
produce a limited range of colour such as orange, yellow etc. the speed of the
electrons, and hence the screen colour at any point, is controlled by the beam-

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acceleration voltage. Beam penetration has been an inexpensive way to produce
colour in random-scan monitors, but only four colours are possible and quality of
pictures is not a good as with other methods.

Advantages: The biggest advantage is that it is at half cost of shadow mask

and its resolution is better.

Disadvantage: the main problem arises at the time of switching colours, when
the beam-accelerating potential needs to be changed by significant amounts in
order to prevent smear and flicker of the image. The hardware of the software
must be designed to introduce adequate delays between colour changes, so that
there is time for voltage to settle. So biggest disadvantage is that change of
colour takes time which doesn’t suit interactive graphics at all.

To prevent frequent delays and consequent flicker all the red elements of the
picture should be displayed first, then the accelerating potential can be changed
to display toe tallow elements and so on through all the different colours.

SHADOW MASK CRT

The process are used in raster-scan systems (including colour TV) because they
produce a much wider range of colour than the beam penetration method. It has
three phosphor colour dots at each pixel position. One phosphor dot emits a red
light, another emits a green light, and the third emits a blue light. The CRT has
three electron guns, one for each colour dot, and a shadow-mask grid just behind
the phosphor coated screen. The stream of electrons produced by the CRT’s
cathode reaches the phosphor-coated faceplate; it encounters the shadow mask,
a sheet of metal engraved with a pattern of holes. The mask is positioned in the
glass funnel of the CRT during manufacture and the phosphor is coated on the
screen so the screen so that electrons coming from the red, green and blue gun
positions only land on the appropriate phosphor.

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Stray electrons strike it and are absorbed by it, generating a great deal of heat,
which in turn causes the metal to expand. To allow flatter CRT’s to be made,
the metal most commonly used now for shadow masks is invar, an alloy of iron
and nickel. The metal dimensions when heat is applied. In reality, its dimensions
are not completely invariable and the buildup of heat in a shadow mask can let
to a form of distortion known as doming, where the center of the mask bulges
towards the faceplate slightly.

RAINDOM SCAN DISPLAY (MONITORS)

The original CRT, developed in the late 50’s and early 60’s created charts and
pictures line by line on the tube surface in any (random) order or direction given,
in a vectorial fashion. The electron beam was moved along the particular direction
and for the particular length of the line is specified. For this reason the type of
device was known as vector calligraphic or stroke. For example we want a line
connecting point A with point B on the vector graphics display, we simply drive
the beam deflection circuitry, which will cause beam to go directly from point A
to B.

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If we want to move the beam from point A to point B without showing a line
between points, we can blank the beam as we move. It thus random scan display
generates the image by drawing a set of random straight lines much in the same
way one might move a pencil over a piece of draw an image-drawing strokes
from one point o another, one line at a time.

There are of course no bit planes containing mapped pixel values in vector
system. The display buffer memory contains a set of line drawing commands
along with end point coordinates in a display list or display list or display program
created by a graphics package. The display processing unit (DPU) executes each
command during every refresh cycle and feeds the vector generator with digital
x, y and ∆x, ∆y values. The vector generator converts the digital signals into
equivalent analog deflection voltages. This causes the electron beam to move to
the start point or from the start point to the end point of a line or vector.
Therefore, the beam sweep does not follow any fixed pattern, the direction is
arbitrary as dictated by the display commands.

RASTER SCAN DISPLAYS (MONITORS)

It is a synonym for “matrix” therefore a raster scan CRT scans a matrix with
electron beam. In a raster-scan system, the electron beam is wept across the
screen, one row at a time from top to bottom. As the electron beam moves
across each row, the beam intensity turned on and off to create a pattern of
illuminated spots. Picture definition contained in a memory area called the refresh
buffer or frame buffer. It carry the group of intensity values for all the screen
points. The stored intensity values are retrieved from frame buffer and displayed
on the screen one row (beam line) at a time. Every screen point is referred to
as a pixel. Every pixel on the screen can be specified by its row and column
number. Thus by specifying row and column number we can specify the pixel
position on the screen.

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The capability of a raster-scan system to store intensity information for each
screen point makes it will suited for the realistic display of scenes containing
subtle shading and colour patterns.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RASTER AND RANDOM DISPLAYS

The difference between raster and random display is that raster display gives a
realistic image. It generally have higher resolution than raster systems. It produce
smooth line drawing because the CRT beam directly follows the line path. A
raster system produces Jagged lines that are plotted as the point sets.

VECTOR SCAN DISPLAY RASTER SCAN DISPLAY

1. It only draws lines and characters. 1. It has ability to display areas filled with
2. Don’t use interlacing solid colors or patterns.
3. It display the beam is moved between the end
2. Uses interlacing.
points of the graphics primitives 3. The beam is moved all over the screen
one scan line at a time from top to bottom and
4. Higher resolution. then back to top.
5. More expensive. 4. Lower resolution.
6. Uses monochrome or beam-penetration 5. Less expensive
type. 6. Uses monochroma
7. It draws a continuous and smooth line. 7. It display mathematically smooth lines
polygons and boundaries of curved primitives
only by approximating then with pixel on the
8. Editing is easy. raster grid.
9. Refresh rate depends directly on picture 8. Editing is difficult.
complexity. 9. Refresh rate independent of picture
10. Scan conversion is not required. complexity.
10. Graphics primitives are specifics in terms
of their end points and must be scan converted
into their corresponding pixels in the frame
buffer.

DIRECT-VIEW STORAGE TUBE

Both in the raster scan and random scan system the screen image is maintained
(flicker free) by redrawing or refreshing the screen many times per second many
times per second by cycling through the picture data stored in the refresh buffer.

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A direct-view storage tube (DVST) gives the alternative method of maintaining
the screen image. It uses the storage grid which stores the picture information
as a charge distribution just behind the phosphor-coated screen. Figure shows
the diagram of a DVST.

It consists of two electron guns:

a. Primary gun
b. Flood gun

A primary gun contains the picture pattern and flood gun keep the picture display.

There is no refresh buffer, the images are created by drawing vectors or line
segments with a relatively slow-moving electron beam. The beam is planned not
to produce directly on phosphor but on a fine wire mesh (called storage mesh)
coated with dielectric and mounted just behind the screen. A pattern of positive
charge is deposited on the grid, and this pattern is transferred to the phosphor
coated screen by a continuous flood of electrons emanating from a separate
flood gun.

The DVST contains also a second grid just behind the storage mesh, that is
called collector. The main purpose of collector is to smooth out the follow of
flood electrons. These electrons pass through the collector at short velocity and
are attracted to the positively charged portions of the storage mesh but repelled

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by the rest. Electrons not hold off by the storage mesh pass right through it and
strike the phosphor.

In order to create the bright picture, energy of electrons can be controlled by

maintaining the screen at high positive potential by means of voltage applied to
him aluminium coating between the tube face and the phosphor.

Advantage of DVST

1. Refreshing of CRT is not required.

2. Because no refreshing required, complex pictures can be showed at very
high resolution without flicker.
3. It has flat screen.

Disadvantage of DVST

1. They do not showed colors and are available with single level of line
intensity.
2. Deleting needs removal of charge on the storage grid. Thus erasing and
redrawing process takes several seconds.
3. Selective or part deleting of screen is not possible.
4. Delete screen produces unpleasant flash over the entire screen surface
which prevents its use of dynamic graphics applications.
5. It has bad contrast as a result of the comparatively short accelerating
potential applied to the flood electrons.
6. The presentation of DVST is some what inferior to the refresh CRT.

FLAT-PANEL DISPLAY

A number display methods are in use that is designed to reduce the depth of
the CRT display caused by the length of the tube. These devices are known as
flat panel displays. These types of flat panel displays commonly in use with

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computer systems are liquid crystal displays (LCD’s), gas plasma displays
(GPD’s) and electroluminescent display (ELDs).

The screen of flat panel displays made up of pairs of electrodes. Every pair of
electrodes is used to generate one picture element.

It refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume, weight and power
requirements compared to a CRT. They are thinner than CRT and we can hang
them on walls or wear them on our wrists. Current uses of these are in small
TV monitors, calculators, laptop computers etc. there are two types of flat panel
displays:

a. Emissive displays
b. Non-emissive displays

Emissive displays: It displays (emitters) are devices that convert electrical energy
into light. Plasma panels, light emitting diodes are examples of displays.

Non-emissive displays: It displays optical outcome to translate sunlight or light

from few other source into graphics pattern. The important example of it is to
flat-panel display is a liquid crystal device (LCD).

LIQUID-CRYSTAL DISPLAY (LCD)

They are commonly used in small systems such a s calculators and portable
laptop computers. It produce a picture by passing polarized light from the
surroundings or from an internal light source through a liquid-crystal material that
can be aligned to either block or transmit the light.

They were first discovered in the late 19 th century by the Austrain botanist,
Fredrich Reintzer, and the term “liquid crystal” itself was coined shortly afterwards
by German physicist, Otto Lehmann.

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They are almost transparent substances, exhibiting the properties of both solid
and liquid matter.

It uses an electron gun to bombard electrons over a glass tube coated with
phosphor, which glows when struck by the electron beam. While in LCDs, liquid
crystals sandwiched between thin polarized sheets are used. This setup allows
LCDs to be sleeker and less heavier than CRT. They consume 1/3rd of the power
of CRT. They also emit lesser front of their PCs, then it’s better to use LCD
monitors. There is one small drawback in LCD monitors. The viewing angle of
most LCD monitors is only 160o, so if we try to view the monitor from the sides,
we may not be able to see anything.

INTERACTIVE DEVICES

KEYBOARD

It is primary input device for entering text and numbers. It is simple device
consists of about 100 keys each of which sends different codes to the CPU. It
was one of the first peripheral to be used with PCs, and it is still the most
common. T hey are designed for the input of text and characters and also to
control the operation of a computer.

Standard keyboards

The number of keyboard differs from the original standard of 101 keys to the
104 key windows keyboards. There are five pars of standard keyboard:

a. The alphanumeric keys

b. The numeric keypad
c. The function keys
d. Modifier keys
e. Cursor movement key

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THE MOUSE

It functions as a pointing devices by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to

its supporting surface can be used only with GUI (Graphical user interface) based
operating system, e.g. Windows.

It is a small pointer-held box used to position the screen cursor. Another process
for detecting mouse motion is with an optical sensor. It is moved over a special
mouse pad that has a grid of horizontal and vertical lines. The optical sensor
detects movement across the lines in the grid.

So types of mouse based on mechanism

1. Mechanical mouse
2. Optical mouse

It offers two main benefits. It lets us position the cursor anywhere on the screen
quickly without using the cursor movement keys. We simply move the pointer to
the on screen position we want and press the mouser button, the cursors appears
at that position. Second, instead of forcing us to type or issue commands from
the keyboard, the mouse-based operating systems let us choose commands fro
easy to use menus and dialog box.

TRACKBALLS AND SPACEBALLS

It is a pointing device that works like an upside-down mouse. As the name

implies, a trackball is a ball that can be rotated with the fingers or palm of the
hand to produce screen cursor movement. The potentiometers attached to the
trackball are used to measure the amount and direction of rotation. Because we
do not move the whole device, a trackball requires less space than a mouse.
Trackballs gained popularity with the advent of laptop computers, which typically

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are used on laps or on small work surfaces that have no space for a mouse.
Trackballs comes in different models.

It is a two dimensional positioning device whereas space ball provides six degree
of freedom. Unlike the trackball, a space ball does not actually move. Strain
gauges measure the amount of pressure applied to the space ball to provide
input for spatial positioning and orientation as the ball is pushed or pulled in
various directions. Space balls are used for three-dimensional positioning and
selection operations in virtual-reality systems, modelling, animation, CAD and
other applications.

TRACKPADS OR TOUCHPADS

It is a stationary pointing device that many people find less tiring to use than a
mouse or trackball. The motion of a finger across a small touch-sensitive surface
is translated into pointer movement on the computer screen.

JOYSTICK

Similar to the trackball and mouse, the joystick consists, or a vertical lever (called
the stick) which can be swing around moving the cursor on the screen. Most
joystick select screen positions with actual stick movement. Others respond to
pressure on the stick.

The distance that the stick is moved in any direction from its centre position
corresponds to screen cursor movement in that direction. Potentiometers mounted
at the base of the joystick measure the amount of movement, and springs return
the stick to the centre position when it is released.

In any joystick, optical sensors are used instead of analog potentiometer to read
stick movement digitally. One of the biggest additions to the world of joysticks is
force feedback technology. On using a force feedback (also called haptic

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feedback) joystick if we are shooting a machine gun in an action game, the stick
would vibrate in our hands or if we crashed our plane in a flight in an action
game, the stick would vibrate in our hands or if we crashed our plane in a flight
simulator, the stick would push back suddenly which means the stick moves in
conjunction with on screen actions.

Joystick are often used to control games.

TOUCH-SCREEN

It is a computer display screen that is sensitive to human touch, allowing a user

to interact with the computer by touching pictures or words on the screen.

➢ It accept input directly though the monitor.

➢ They use sensors to detect the touch of a finger. They are useful where
environment conditions prohibit the use of a keyboard or mouse.
➢ They are useful for selecting options from menus.

Most touch-screen computers use sensors on the screen’s surface to detect th

touch of a finger, but other touch-screen technologies are in use, as well.

LIGHT PEN

It is pointing device shaped like a pen and is connected to the computer. The
tip of the light pen contains a light-sensitive element (photoelectric cell) which,
when placed against the screen, detects the light from the screen enabling the
computer to identify the location of the pen on the screen.

Unlike other devices which have associated hardware to track the device and
determine x and y values, the light pen needs software support (same kind of
tracking program). A light pen can work with any CRT based monitor, but not
with LCD screen, projectors or other display devices.

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The light pen actually works by sensing the sudden small change in brightness
of a point on the screen when the electron gun refreshers that spot. By noting
exactly where the scanning has reached at that moment, the x, y position of the
pen can be resolved. The pen position is updated on very refresh of the screen.

DATA GLOVE

It is an interface device that uses position tracking sensors and fiber optic strands
running down each finger and connected to a compatible computer, the movement
of the hand and fingers are displayed live on the computer monitor which in turn
allows the user to virtually touch an object displayed in the same monitor. With
the object animated it would appear that the user (wearing the data glove) can
pick up an object and do things with it just as he would do with a real object.
In modern data glove devices, tactile sensors are used to provide the amount of
pressure or force the gingers or hands are exerting even though the user is not
actually touching anything. Thus data glove is an agent to transport the user to
virtual reality.

The input from the glove can be used to position or manipulate objects in a
virtual scene. Thus by wearing the data glove a user can grasp, move and rotate
objects and then release them.

VOICE SYSTEM

It is a sophisticated input device that accepts voice or speech input from the
user and transforms it to digital data that can be used to trigger graphic operations
or enter data in specific fields. Later when a voice command is given by the
same operator, the systems searches for a frequency-pattern match in the
dictionary and if found the corresponding action is triggered.

SCANNER

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In computing, It is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting,
or an object, and converts it to a digital image.

HARDCOPY DEVICES

Monitor display is good for the creation, checking and modification of image but
for further analysis, design documentation and presentation purposes, hardcopy
in the form of printed and plotted output on paper is an absolute necessity.

PRINT

It is an important accessory of any computer graphics system. Over the past

decade, the variety of available printing devices has exploded, however three
types of printers have become the most popular dot matrix, inkjet and loser.
Within those three groups consumers have hundreds of options ranging widely in
price and features.

a. Impact: There printers have a mechanism whereby formed character faces

are pressed against an inked ribbon on the paper in order to create an image,
e.g. dot matrix printer, line printer.
b. Non-impact: These printer do not touch the paper rather use laser
techniques, ink sprays xerographic processes and electrostic methods to produce
image on paper. For example laser printer, ink-jet printer, electrostatic printer,
drum plotter, flatbed plotter etc.
c. Dot Matrix Printers: in the early year computing, dot matrix printers were
the most commonly used printing devices. Dot matrix printers are popular in
business and academic settings because they are relatively fast and inexpensive
to operate and the do a good job of printing text and simply graphics.
A dot matrix printer creates an image by using a mechanism called a print head,
which contains a cluster (or matrix) of shor t pins arranged in one or more
columns. On receiving instructions from the PC, the printer can push any of the

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pins out in any combination. By pushing out pins in various combinations the
print head can create alphanumeric characters.
When pushed out from the cluster protruding pins ends strike a ribbon, which is
held in place between the print head and the paper. When the pins strike the
ribbon, they press ink from the ribbon onto the paper. The print head normally
print along very raster row of the printer paper and the colour of print is the
colour of the ink of the ribbon. Thus, a dot matrix printer forms a character by
creating s series of dots.
The more pins that print head contains, the higher the printer’s resolution. The
lowest dot matrix printers have only 9 pins and the highest resolution printer
have 24 pins.
The speed this is measured in characters per second (CPS). The slowest dot
matrix printers create 50 to 70 characters per second and the fastest printer
more than 500 cps.

Line printer: It is a special type of impact printer. It works like a dot matrix
printer but uses a special wide print head that can print an entire line of text at
one time.

The technology is usually both faster and less expensive than lesser printer. It
has its use in medium volume accounting and other large business applications,
where print volume and speed is a priority over quality. Line printers do not offer
high resolution but are incredibly fast; the faster can print 3,000 lines of text per
minute.

Band printers: It features a rotating band embossed with alphanumeric characters.

To print a character, the machine rotates the band to the desired character, then
a small hammer taps the band, pressing the character against a ribbon. Band
printers are very fast and very robust. Depending on the character set used a
good quality band printer can generate 2000 lines of text per minute.

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Ink-Jet Printer: It is a non-impact printer that places extremely small droplets of
ink into paper to create an image. The dots sprayed on paper are extremely
small (usually between 50 and 60 microns in diameter) and are positioned very
precisely with resolutions of up to 1440 × 720 dpi. The dots can have different
colour combined together to create photo-quality image compared to laser printers,
the operating cost of an ink-jet printer is relatively low. Many ink-jet printers use
one cartridge for colour printing and a separate black only cartridge for black-
and white printing. This feature saves money by reserving coloured ink only for
colour printing.

The core of an inkjet printer is the print head that contain a series of nozzles
that are used to spray drops of ink. The ink is contained in ink cartridges. A
stepper motor moves the print head assembly (print head and ink cartridges)
back and forth across the paper. The mechanical operation of the printer is
controlled by a small circuit board containing a microprocessor and memory.

Colour inkjet printers have four ink nozzles: Cyan (blue), magnetic (red), yellow
and black. For this reason, they are often known as CMYK printers. Notice that
the colours are different from the primary additive colour (red, green and blue)
used in monitors printed colour is the result of light source. Consequently, cyan,
magneta, yellow and black are sometimes called subtractive colours and colour
printing is sometimes called four-colour printing.

Laser Printer: As the name implies, a laser is at the heart of these printers. A
CPU and memory are build into the printer to the printer to interpret the data
that it receives from the computer and to control the laser. The result is a
complicated piece of equipment that uses technology similar to that in
photocopies.

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As the electron gun in a monitor can target any pixel, the laser in a laser printer
can aim at any point on a drum, creating an electrical charge. Toner, which is
composed of small particles of ink, sticks to the drum in the places the laser
has charged. With pressure and heat, the toner is moved off the drum onto the
paper. The amount of memory that laser printers hold determines the speed at
which documents are printed.

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