Students Develop New 3D Computer Mouse
May 18, 2007 | by Nick Mokey
The "MagicMouse" detects the motion of a finger in the air, allowing users to poke, prod and pan their way around a computer screen without ever touching it.
Five students at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute have cooked up a new way to interact with computers, which they’ve dubbed the MagicMouse. The mouse brings new meaning to “point and click” by allowing users to actually point at objects on a screen using their index finger and manipulate them, even in 3D, using only the motion of the finger.
It works using a tiny ultrasonic transmitter that a user wears around his or her finger like a ring. The transmitter sends a signal every 16 milliseconds to an array of five receivers. Software then calculates the ring’s position in 3D space using time difference of arrival – the same way GPS systems work. The receivers are sensitive enough to detect even tiny delays in the signal from the ring, which the software can use to determine how far away the ring is. Using this data from all five receivers, the computer can accurately determine the ring’s movements. This all occurs in what appears to be real time to us.
The WPI students built the MagicMouse as part of a major qualifying project for their computer and electrical engineering degrees, and worked on it over the course of 21 weeks. Although they were required to build only a single prototype, they wanted the ring to be practical, so they kept the materials cheap. The whole system used only $155 worth of parts.
Applications for the ring right now might include navigating through CAD programs or 3D maps, but the students envision more creative uses for it if it ever becomes popular. For instance, they suggested the MagicMouse as a way for students to learn to conduct an orchestra, using different motions to control pitch, tempo and volume. “With a new interface like this, third party developers could design new applications that would take advantage of the intuitive connection between user input and motion on the screen,” their report suggested. “This device could pave the way for a new revolution in computerinput technology.”
The ring isn’t commercially available yet, but it will be featured in the June issue of Popular Science and the students plan to continue work on it.
Post Your Comment...Comments
Aaron Snyder on May 18th, 2007 at 7:29 AM:
I'm with Anna, this is awesome! I dugg it and made a post on my blog over at teknalogee.com
I cant wait to see what comes of the new mouse!
Chris Banker on May 19th, 2007 at 11:48 AM:
I'm one of the inventors of this mouse and just wanted to throw in a few quick comments.
The image shown is actually one of the alternate ways to wear the ring. For most purposes, it would be better worn either on the fingertip, or worn as you would wear a regular ring. When I get a chance, I'll send in some more photos.
The next board revision of the ring will be even smaller than is shown. The mouse is rechargeable and capable of running for over 2 weeks of continuous use on a single charge.
There is also a good article on this in the current (June) issue of Popular Science, which is also up on http://popsci.com right now.
~Chris
Ian Bell on May 19th, 2007 at 2:46 PM:
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/bd472ee32f...
Here is a direct link to the article on Popular Science.
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Anna on May 18th, 2007 at 6:32 AM:
Is this mouse?! I have no words to say! Awesome!