Immersive Touch-Interactive Display Enabled by Virtual Button

Abstract

Virtual buttons on touch screens have assumed an increasingly prominent role within the field of human-computer interaction, functioning as a critical interface modality between users and digital systems. Following their emergence as a widely adopted alternative to traditional input devices such as the mouse and keyboard, virtual buttons have been extensively implemented across a broad spectrum of sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and education. Their key advantages—including compact physical design, minimal hardware requirements, ease of system integration, and a relatively low user learning threshold—contribute to their suitability for both consumer-oriented products and domain-specific industrial applications. This paper presents a comprehensive review of numerous influential studies published over recent decades, offering a structured synthesis of the technological progression and functional evolution of virtual button systems. It provides a comparative analysis of various implementations grounded in distinct touch-sensing technologies, such as capacitive, resistive, piezoelectric, and infrared mechanisms, and evaluates their applicability in contexts including consumer electronics and in-vehicle interfaces. The discussion concludes with an examination of emerging trends and prospective development trajectories aimed at addressing the growing demand for intelligent, adaptive virtual button solutions.