Input Device

Input devices allow a user to interact with the computer. What kind of input device to use (if not specified by the artist) depends on what level of interaction is necessary to animate the work successfully. Some common input devices are:

Touch Screens

Touch screens overlay the display and are typically pressure-sensitive (resistive), electrically-sensitive (capacitive), acoustically-sensitive (SAW or surface acoustic wave) or photo-sensitive (infrared). For simple interactions, these devices replace the keyboard and/or mouse as the primary input device for interacting with a work?s content.

Image/Video/Audio

Scanners, digital cameras and camcorders, webcams and microphones all can be used as input devices for computer based installations, not only as an input for image and sound, but as a way to track a user?s movement through space.

Mouse/keyboard: These are the two main input devices for computer installations. The mouse allows for basic "point and click" interaction and the keyboard allows for more traditional input like text entry.

Gaming Device: Common video game inputs are sometimes used in installations, such as joysticks, paddle, and game pads.