The Computer Mouse of Tomorrow is Invisible

The folks at MIT have cooked up a new way to interact with your computer without holding a physical mouse. The “Mouseless” project abandons the traditional hardware mouse and replaces it with a new invisible mouse. Unlike Wonder Woman’s jet, there is no mouse at all; rather a laptop is equipped with IR sensors to detect movement.

To use the “Mouseless” system, all a user needs to do is cup their hand on the desk near the notebook and an IR laser will activate the mousing. A notebook mounted IR camera detects the movement. The hardware for the project costs just over $20, which is similar to that of a low end mouse.

The new “Mouseless” system may look cool on camera, but since it still requires you to act like a real mouse is there the current implementation adds little to the user experience. But, this technology could lead to newer, more efficient means of interacting with your computer. This type of forward thinking mouse experimentation is what has led to the almost certain to be released Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse, a multitouch mouse based on research from Microsoft.

Via WIRED

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