Stimulation board for automated verification of touchscreen-based devices

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary results of the research with the goal of designing a system for automated verification of touchscreen-based devices. The proposed system is based on electrical stimulation of touch-screens, as opposed to the mechanical stimulation nowadays used in such systems. Stimulation is performed by the FPGA-based stimulation board which touches the screen with the long conductor connected to the ground. It simulates the electrical field distortion similar to the distortion induced by introducing the finger to the electrical field of the touch-screen. The long conductor is disconnected from the screen electrically, with the use of a transistor. Controlling the on/off state of the transistor controls whether the conductor touches the screen or not. Preliminary results show that such electrical stimulation of touch-screens is possible, but further research is needed to improve the reliability of the stimulation board. © 2012 IEEE.