Hardware Flashcards
Braille
A technique that allows blind people to read by feeling a
pattern of raised dots with their fingers
Braille keyboard
An input device with a small number of keys that can be
used to enter characters as a combination of these keys
Braille printer
An output device that produces Braille documents by
impressing raised dots on a sheet of paper.
Digital camera
An input device that makes electronic images or video clips.
Eye tracker
An input device that allows a user to control a computer by
moving their eye, for example by working out what the user
is looking at on a display.
Ink-jet printer
A type of printer that works by projecting tiny droplets of ink
onto a sheet of paper
Input device
A device that is used to enter data into a computer. It takes
data that a user presents and converts it into binary code.
Joystick
An input device, often used in games, that allows a user to
move a pointer or a character by tilting a handle backwards,
forwards, left or right
Keyboard
An input device that consists of a set of keys that can be
pressed by a user to enter characters into the computer system.
Laser printer
A type of printer that works by using a laser to cause
powdered ink to form the desired pattern on a sheet of paper
Microphone
An input device that converts sound into an electrical signal
which can be processed by a computer
Monitor
A screen used to display the output of a computer as a
series of individual dots or pixels which can be updated as
necessary
Mouse
An input device that can be moved by a user to move a
pointer on a screen. It has one or more buttons to allow the
user to perform actions on the items on the screen
Multitouch monitor
A touchscreen monitor capable of recognising several points
of contact at the same time.
Optical Character
Recognition (OCR)
A technique for converting images of printed text into
electronic text by identifying the characters in the image
according to their shape.
Output device
A device that presents the result of processing. It converts
binary data into a form which can be read by a user, or into
a result in the external world.
Plotter
A type of printer that uses a mechanical ‘arm’ and a pen to
make very precise drawings.
Printer
An output device for producing hard copies of documents
and images on paper.
Scanner
An input device that converts printed documents and
images into a digital form.
Speaker
An output device that converts an electrical signal into sound.
Speech recognition
A technique that recognises a user’s speech and converts it
into text.
Speech synthesis
A technique that converts text into speech.
Touchpad
An input device that is used to move a pointer on the screen
by making similar movements across a flat surface.
Touchscreen monitor
An input/output device that allows a user to interact with the
image displayed by touching it.
