Digitizing tablet

A digitizing tablet is a flat input device, used for drawings. The most common kinds project a weak magnetic field about an inch from their surface, in which they can detect a special pointing device, normally a stylus or puck. Digitizing tablets are popular for technical drawings, as one can put a paper on them without interfering with their function, and for art, since the stylus can be equipped with a pressure sensitive tip, making it a quite natural way to paint.

Touch screens are operated in similar ways, but they usually use either optical grids or a pressure sensitive film instead. Therefore they do not need a special stylus.