Human Interface device

HID definition of a device

According to the HID specification, a device is described,
 during the report mode, as a set of controls or group of controls.
 Controls are matched by a field containing the data, and another containing a usage tag.
 Each usage tag is described in the spec as the constructor suggested use of the data
described in the report mode.


Human Interface Device

A human interface device or HID is a type of computer device that

 interacts directly with, and most often takes input from, humans 

and may deliver output to humans. The term "HID" most commonly refers 

to the USB-HID specification. The term was coined by Mike Van Flanders  of Microsoft when he proposed the USB committee create a Human Input Device class working group. The working group was renamed as the Human Interface Device class at the suggestion of Tom Schmidt of DEC because the proposed standard supported bi-directional communicate.

History

The primary motivation for HID research was to enable innovation in PC input devices 

and simplify the process of installing these devices. Prior to HID, devices usually 

conformed to strictly defined protocols for mice, keyboards and joysticks; for example, 

the standard mouse protocol at the time supported relative X and Y axis data and binary

 input for up to two buttons, with no legacy support. All Hardware innovations necessitated overloading the use of data in an existing protocol 

or creation of custom device drivers and evangelization of a new protocol to developers. By contrast, all HID-defined devices deliver self-describing 

packages that may contain any number of data types and formats. A single HID driver on the PC parses data and enables dynamic association of data I/O 

with application functionality, 

which has enabled rapid innovation and development, and prolific diversification of new human interface devices.

The HID standard was developed by a working committee with representatives from several prominent companies. The list of participants can be found in the "Device Class Definition for 

Human Interface Devices (HID)" document. The concept of a self describing extensible protocol was initially conceived of by Mike Van Flandern and Manolito Adan, while working on a project named 

Raptor at Microsoft, and independently by Steve McGowan,

 who was working on a device protocol for Access Bus while at Forte. After comparing notes at a Consumer Game Developer Conference, Steve and Mike agreed to collaborate on a new standard for the emerging Universal Serial Bus.

Common HIDs

Keyboard

Mouse, Trackball, Touchpad, Pointing stick

Graphics tablet

Joystick, Gamepad, Analog stick

Webcam

Fingerprint Scanner

Headset

Less common HIDs

Driving simulator devices and flight simulator devices have HIDs such as gear sticks, steering wheels and pedals.

Wired glove (Nintendo Power Glove)

Dance pad

Wii Remote

Surface computing device

Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor(SMS) device in Macs.

There are limitations to the HID protocol, however, most operating systems will recognize standard USB HID devices, 

such as keyboards and mice, without needing a specialized driver. When installed, a message saying that "A "HID-compliant device" has been recognized,"

 generally appears on screen. In comparison, this message does not usually appear for devices connected via the PS/2 6-pin DIN connectors which preceded USB. PS/2 does not typically support plug-and-play,

 which means that connecting a PS/2 keyboard or mouse with the computer powered on does not always work. Likewise, the PS/2 standard does not support the HID protocol. A USB HID is described by the USB human interface device class

Other protocols using HID

Since HID's original definition over USB, HID is now also used in other computer communication buses. This enables HID devices that traditionally were only found on USB to also be used on alternative buses. This is done since existing support for USB HID devices can typically be adapted much faster than having to invent an entirely new protocol to support mice, keyboards, and the like. Known buses that use HID are:
Bluetooth HID — Bluetooth is a wireless communications technology. Several Bluetooth mice and keyboards already exist in the market place.
Serial HID — Used in Microsoft's Windows Media Center PC remote control receivers.

All voice, video and data networks and the equipment, staff and purchased services necessary to operate them

Telecommunications Industry Association

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
 to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a wide variety of
 ICT products, and currently represents nearly 400 companies.
 TIA's Standards and Technology Department operates twelve engineering committees,
 which develop guidelines for private radio equipment, cellular towers, data terminals,
 satellites, telephone terminal equipment, accessibility, VoIP devices,
structured cabling, data centers, mobile device communications, multimedia multicast,

vehicular telematics, healthcare ICT, machine-to-machine communications, and smart utility networks.
Overall, more than 500 active participants,
 from telecommunications equipment manufacturers,
service providers, government agencies, academic institutions,
 and end-users, are engaged in TIA’s standards setting process.
To ensure that these standards become incorporated globally,
 TIA is also engaged in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).