A touch sensing apparatus for receiving input from one or more touch stimulating devices employs a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signaling arrangement to transmit signals from the touch stimulating devices for identification and location determination. Active devices are powered by an EM field and generate a touch stimulating signal that is spread spectrum encoded for identification, and signal pickups in a propagation layer receive the touch stimulation signals which are identified by the DSSS encoding and located using received signal strength (RSS) techniques. Semi-active devices are powered by an EM field and receive code instructions to generate specific spread spectrum signals and generate a touch-stimulating signal. Touch stimulating devices are either tethered or tether-free, and powered by batteries or EM fields.