What is the difference between resistive touch screen and capacitive touch screen?

There are many types of touch screens on the market, the more common ones are resistive touch screen (RTP), capacitive touch screen (CTP), surface acoustic wave touch screen, infrared touch screen. At present, the most widely used touch screens are mainly capacitive touch and resistive touch. The following is a simple comparison of the main differences between the two touch technologies.

Working principle

Capacitive touch: works by using the current induction of the human body. When a finger touches the metal layer, due to the human body electric field, the user and the touch screen surface form a coupling capacitor. For high-frequency current, the capacitor is a direct conductor, so the finger absorbs a very small current from the contact point. This current flows out from the electrodes on the four corners of the touch screen, and the current flowing through these four electrodes is proportional to the distance from the finger to the four corners. The controller obtains the position of the touch point by accurately calculating the ratio of these four currents.

Resistive touch: It mainly uses the principle of pressure sensing to realize the operation and control of the screen content. The screen body of this touch screen is a multi-layer composite film that fits the display surface very well. When you touch the surface layer and press it down, it contacts the bottom layer. The controller reads the corresponding current from the four corners and calculates the distance of the finger position at the same time.

Touch technology

Capacitive screen: supports multi-point touch, fast response speed, and sensitive response.

Resistive screen: pressure sensing, can be touched with any object.

Use environment

Capacitive screen: easily affected by changes in ambient temperature, humidity, electric field and other factors. We can optimize the display screen according to the use scenario.

Resistive screen: The screen is not easily affected by dust, water vapor and oil pollution. It can be used in low or high temperature environments and can adapt to harsh environments.

Cost

Capacitive screen: The cost is higher than that of resistive touch technology.

Resistive screen: Since capacitive touch technology is already very mature, with a simple structure and low technical threshold, the cost is lower.

Lifespan

Capacitive screen: Capacitive touch technology works by current sensing, with less wear on the screen and long service life.

Resistive screen: Resistive touch technology uses pressure sensing, which can easily wear out the screen, causing damage to the touch function and a short service life.