![Microsoft-wireless-mouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Microsoft-wireless-mouse.jpg)
An optical mouse is a
computer mouse
A computer mouse (plural mice, sometimes mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows a smooth c ...
which uses a light source, typically a
light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
(LED), and a light detector, such as an array of
photodiode
A photodiode is a light-sensitive semiconductor diode. It produces current when it absorbs photons.
The package of a photodiode allows light (or infrared or ultraviolet radiation, or X-rays) to reach the sensitive part of the device. The packag ...
s, to detect movement relative to a surface. Variations of the optical mouse have largely replaced the older
mechanical mouse
A computer mouse (plural mice, sometimes mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows a smooth ...
design, which uses moving parts to sense motion.
1800(18)
The earliest optical mice detected movement on pre-printed mousepad surfaces. Modern optical mice work on most opaque
diffusely reflective surfaces like paper, but most of them do not work properly on
specularly reflective surfaces like polished stone or transparent surfaces like glass. Optical mice that use
dark field illumination
Dark-field microscopy (also called dark-ground microscopy) describes microscopy methods, in both light and electron microscopy, which exclude the unscattered beam from the image. As a result, the field around the specimen (i.e., where there ...
can function reliably even on such surfaces.
Mechanical mice
Though not commonly referred to as optical mice, nearly all mechanical mice tracked movement using LEDs and
photodiode
A photodiode is a light-sensitive semiconductor diode. It produces current when it absorbs photons.
The package of a photodiode allows light (or infrared or ultraviolet radiation, or X-rays) to reach the sensitive part of the device. The packag ...
s to detect when beams of infrared light did and didn't pass through holes in a pair of
incremental rotary encoder wheels (one for left/right, another for forward/back), driven by a rubberized ball. Thus, the primary distinction of “optical mice” is not their use of optics, but their complete lack of moving parts to track mouse movement, instead employing an entirely solid-state system.
Early optical mice
![Xerox Optical Mouse Chip](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Xerox_Optical_Mouse_Chip.jpg)
The first two optical mice, first demonstrated by two independent inventors in December 1980, had different basic designs:
One of these, invented by
Steve Kirsch of
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...
and
Mouse Systems Corporation, used an infrared LED and a four-quadrant infrared sensor to detect grid lines printed with infrared absorbing ink on a special metallic surface. Predictive
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...
s in the
CPU
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...
of the mouse calculated the speed and direction over the grid. The other type, invented by
Richard F. Lyon of Xerox, used a 16-pixel visible-light
image sensor
An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of curr ...
with integrated motion detection on the same
ntype (
5µm)
MOS integrated circuit
upright=1.6, gate (G), body (B), source (S), and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an gate oxide">insulating layer (pink).
The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET), also ...
chip, and tracked the motion of light dots in a dark field of a printed paper or similar mouse pad. The Kirsch and Lyon mouse types had very different behaviors, as the Kirsch mouse used an x-y coordinate system embedded in the pad, and would not work correctly when the pad was rotated, while the Lyon mouse used the x-y coordinate system of the mouse body, as mechanical mice do.
![Opto mouse sensor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Opto_mouse_sensor.jpg)
The optical mouse ultimately sold with the Xerox STAR office computer used an inverted sensor chip packaging approach patented by Lisa M. Williams and Robert S. Cherry of the Xerox Microelectronics Center.
Modern optical mice
Optical sensor
![ST_Microelectronics_OSMLT04_H_mouse_sensor_chip_with_vertical_and_horizontal_illumination](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/ST_Microelectronics_OSMLT04_H_mouse_sensor_chip_with_vertical_and_horizontal_illumination.jpg)
Modern surface-independent optical mice work by using an
optoelectronic
Optoelectronics (or optronics) is the study and application of electronic devices and systems that find, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, ''light'' often includes invisible forms of radiatio ...
sensor
A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon.
In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...
(essentially, a tiny low-resolution video camera) to take successive images of the surface on which the mouse operates. As computing power grew cheaper, it became possible to embed more powerful special-purpose
image-processing chips
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...
in the mouse itself. This advance enabled the mouse to detect relative motion on a wide variety of surfaces, translating the movement of the mouse into the movement of the cursor and eliminating the need for a special mouse-pad. A surface-independent coherent light optical mouse design was patented by Stephen B. Jackson at Xerox in 1988.
Xerox's inventions were never massively commercially exploited, however, and optical mice would remain elusive in the personal computer market until
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
released the
IntelliMouse
IntelliMouse is a series of computer mice from Microsoft. The IntelliMouse series is credited with a number of innovations; Microsoft was among the first mouse vendors to introduce a scroll wheel, an optical mouse, and dedicated auxiliary buttons ...
with IntelliEye and IntelliMouse Explorer in 1999.
These mice used technology developed by Hewlett-Packard under their
Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies, Inc. is an American life sciences company that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for the entire laboratory workflow. Its global headquarters is located in Santa Clara, California. Agilent was establi ...
subsidiary (see
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
). These mice worked on almost any surface, and represented a welcome improvement over mechanical mice, which would pick up dirt, track capriciously, invite rough handling, and need to be taken apart and cleaned frequently. Other manufacturers soon followed Microsoft's lead, including Apple for their
Pro Mouse,
using components manufactured by Agilent (once they spun off from HP), and over the next several years mechanical mice became obsolete.
![S5085 optical mouse IC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/S5085_optical_mouse_IC.jpg)
The technology underlying the modern optical computer mouse is known as
digital image correlation Digital image correlation and tracking is an optical method that employs tracking and image registration techniques for accurate 2D and 3D measurements of changes in images. This method is often used to measure full-field displacement and strains, ...
, a technology pioneered by the defense industry for tracking military targets. A simple binary-image version of digital image correlation was used in the 1980 Lyon optical mouse. Optical mice use image sensors to image naturally occurring texture in materials such as wood, cloth, mouse pads and
Formica
''Formica'' is a genus of ants of the family Formicidae, commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. ''Formica'' is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae. The type species of genus ''For ...
. These surfaces, when lit at a grazing angle by a light emitting diode, cast distinct shadows that resemble a hilly terrain lit at sunset. Images of these surfaces are captured in continuous succession and compared with each other to determine how far the mouse has moved.
Principle of operation
To understand how
optical flow
Optical flow or optic flow is the pattern of apparent motion of objects, surfaces, and edges in a visual scene caused by the relative motion between an observer and a scene. Optical flow can also be defined as the distribution of apparent veloci ...
is used in optical mice, imagine two photographs of the same object except slightly offset from each other. Place both photographs on a
light table to make them transparent, and slide one across the other until their images line up. The amount that the edges of one photograph overhang the other represents the offset between the images, and in the case of an optical computer mouse the distance it has moved.
Optical mice capture one thousand successive images or more per second. Depending on how fast the mouse is moving, each image will be offset from the previous one by a fraction of a pixel or as many as several pixels. Optical mice mathematically process these images using cross correlation to calculate how much each successive image is offset from the previous one. The output of the optical sensor is usually delta coordinates. Some optical ICs allow to get image data as well. Mice usually embeds
DSP processors for fast data processing.
An optical mouse might use an image sensor having an 18 × 18 pixel array of monochromatic pixels. Its sensor would normally share the same
ASIC
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficien ...
as that used for storing and processing the images. One refinement would be accelerating the correlation process by using information from previous motions, and another refinement would be preventing deadbands when moving slowly by adding interpolation or frame-skipping.
The development of the modern optical mouse at Hewlett-Packard Co. was supported by a succession of related projects during the 1990s at HP Laboratories. In 1992 William Holland was awarded US Patent 5,089,712 and John Ertel, William Holland, Kent Vincent, Rueiming Jamp, and Richard Baldwin were awarded US Patent 5,149,980 for measuring linear paper advance in a printer by correlating images of paper fibers. Ross R. Allen, David Beard, Mark T. Smith, and Barclay J. Tullis were awarded US Patents 5,578,813 (1996) and 5,644,139 (1997) for 2-dimensional optical navigational (i.e., position measurement) principles based on detecting and correlating microscopic, inherent features of the surface over which the navigation sensor travelled, and using position measurements of each end of a linear (document) image sensor to reconstruct an image of the document. This is the freehand scanning concept used in the HP CapShare 920 handheld scanner. By describing an optical means that explicitly overcame the limitations of wheels, balls, and rollers used in contemporary computer mice, the optical mouse was anticipated. These patents formed the basis for US Patent 5,729,008 (1998) awarded to Travis N. Blalock, Richard A. Baumgartner, Thomas Hornak, Mark T. Smith, and Barclay J. Tullis, where surface feature image sensing, image processing, and image correlation was realized by an integrated circuit to produce a position measurement. Improved precision of 2D optical navigation, needed for application of optical navigation to precise 2D measurement of media (paper) advance in HP DesignJet large format printers, was further refined in US Patent 6,195,475 awarded in 2001 to
Raymond G. Beausoleil, Jr., and Ross R. Allen.
While the reconstruction of the image in the document scanning application (Allen et al.) required resolution by the optical navigators on the order of 1/600th of an inch, implementation of optical position measurement in computer mice not only benefit from the cost reductions inherent in navigating at lower resolution, but also enjoy the advantage of visual feedback to the user of the cursor position on the computer display. In 2002,
Gary Gordon
Gary Ivan Gordon (August 30, 1960 – October 3, 1993) was a master sergeant in the United States Army and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. At the time of his death, he was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army's premier s ...
, Derek Knee, Rajeev Badyal and Jason Hartlove were awarded US Patent 6,433,780 for an optical computer mouse that measured position using image correlation. Some small
trackpad
A touchpad or trackpad is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on the operating system that is made output to the screen. Touchp ...
s (such as those on Blackberry smartphones) work like an optical mouse.
Light source
LED mice
![VMouseBlueLightSource](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/VMouseBlueLightSource.jpg)
Optical mice often used
light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
s (LEDs) for illumination when first popularized. The color of the optical mouse's LEDs can vary, but red is most common, as red diodes are inexpensive and silicon photodetectors are very sensitive to red light. IR LEDs are also widely used. Other colors are sometimes used, such as the blue LED of the V-Mouse VM-101 illustrated at right.
Laser mice
![Captured infrared light from a laser mouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Captured_infrared_light_from_a_laser_mouse.jpg)
A laser mouse uses an
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
laser diode
file:Laser diode chip.jpg, The laser diode chip removed and placed on the eye of a needle for scale
A laser diode (LD, also injection laser diode or ILD, or diode laser) is a semiconductor device similar to a light-emitting diode in which a di ...
instead of an LED to illuminate the surface beneath their sensor. As early as 1998,
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
provided a laser mouse with their Sun SPARCstation servers and workstations.
However, laser mice did not enter the mainstream consumer market until 2004, following the development by a team at Agilent Laboratories, Palo Alto, led by Doug Baney of a laser-based mouse based on a 850 nm
VCSEL
The vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, or VCSEL , is a type of semiconductor laser diode with laser beam emission perpendicular from the top surface, contrary to conventional edge-emitting semiconductor lasers (also ''in-plane'' lasers) which ...
that offered a 20X improvement in tracking performance. Tong Xie, Marshall T. Depue, and Douglas M. Baney were awarded US patents 7,116,427 and 7,321,359 for their work on low power consumption broad navigability VCSEL-based consumer mice. Paul Machin at
Logitech
Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe, ...
, in partnership with
Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies, Inc. is an American life sciences company that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for the entire laboratory workflow. Its global headquarters is located in Santa Clara, California. Agilent was establi ...
introduced the new technology as the ''MX 1000'' laser mouse. This mouse uses a small infrared laser (VCSEL) instead of an LED and significantly increased the
resolution
Resolution(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate
* Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body
* New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
of the image taken by the mouse. The laser illumination enabled superior surface tracking compared to LED-illuminated optical mice.
In 2008,
Avago Technologies
Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data center, networking, software, broadband, wirel ...
introduced laser navigation sensors whose
emitter was integrated into the IC using
VCSEL
The vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, or VCSEL , is a type of semiconductor laser diode with laser beam emission perpendicular from the top surface, contrary to conventional edge-emitting semiconductor lasers (also ''in-plane'' lasers) which ...
technology.
In August 2009, Logitech introduced mice with two lasers, to track on glass and glossy surfaces better; they dubbed them a "
Darkfield" laser sensor.
Power
Manufacturers often engineer their optical mice—especially battery-powered wireless models—to save power when possible. To do this, the mouse dims or blinks the laser or LED when in standby mode (each mouse has a different standby time). A typical implementation (by
Logitech
Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe, ...
) has four power states, where the sensor is pulsed at different rates per second:
* 11500: full on, for accurate response while moving, illumination appears bright.
* 1100: fallback active condition while not moving, illumination appears dull.
* 110: standby
* 12: sleep state
Movement can be detected in any of these states; some mice turn the sensor fully off in the sleep state, requiring a button click to wake.
Optical mice utilizing infrared elements (LEDs or lasers) offer substantial increases in battery life over visible spectrum illumination. Some mice, such as the Logitech V450 848 nm laser mouse, are capable of functioning on two AA batteries for a full year, due to the low power requirements of the infrared laser.
Mice designed for use where low latency and high responsiveness are important, such as in playing
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s, may omit power-saving features and require a wired connection to improve performance. Examples of mice which sacrifice power-saving in favor of performance are the
Logitech G5
This is a list of various Logitech products. Individual products may have their own article.
Software
Old software may be retrieved from the tp://ftp.logitech.com/pub/techsupport/00_README.TXT Logitech Tech Support FTP server but one should alwa ...
and the
Razer Razer may refer to:
* Razer (Canadian TV channel), former name of MTV2, a Canadian digital television specialty service
* Razer Inc., a Singaporean-American computer peripherals manufacturer specializing in PC gaming
* Razer Phone, a smartphone desi ...
Copperhead.
Optical versus mechanical mice
![Optical mouse shining](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Optical_mouse_shining.jpg)
Unlike mechanical mice, whose tracking mechanisms can become clogged with lint, optical mice have no moving parts (besides buttons and scroll wheels); therefore, they do not require maintenance other than removing debris that might collect under the light emitter. However, they generally cannot track on glossy and
transparent
Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to:
* Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material
They may also refer to:
Literal uses
* Transparency (photography), a still, ...
surfaces, including some mouse-pads, causing the cursor to drift unpredictably during operation. Mice with less image-processing power also have problems tracking fast movement, whereas some high-quality mice can track faster than 2
m/s.
Some models of laser mouse can track on glossy and transparent surfaces, and have a much higher sensitivity.
mechanical mice had lower average
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
requirements than their optical counterparts; the power used by mice is relatively small, and only an important consideration when the power is derived from
batteries
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
, with their limited capacity.
Optical models outperform mechanical mice on uneven, slick, soft, sticky, or loose surfaces, and generally in mobile situations lacking
mouse pad
A mousepad is a surface for placing and moving a computer mouse. A mousepad enhances the usability of the mouse compared to using a mouse directly on a table by providing a surface to allow it to measure movement accurately and without jitter. S ...
s. Because optical mice render movement based on an image which the LED (or infrared diode)
illuminates, use with multicolored mouse pads may result in unreliable performance; however, laser mice do not suffer these problems and will track on such surfaces.
See also
*
Trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the on-s ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Optical Mouse
Computer mice
History of human–computer interaction
Video game control methods
American inventions