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Optical Mouse Saves Space in Cellphones
Chris writes "Researchers at Philips have integrated a space-saving optical mouse into a mobile phone for the first time.
Dutch researchers at the Philips Center for Industrial Technology have developed a compact, optical interface for portable electronic equipment. The team says that its new input gadget can be easily integrated in cellphones, laptops and PDAs, providing an space-efficient alternative to a mechanical trackball or touch-pad for example.
The device is made up of a low-power red laser diode and a detector placed beneath a lens. Light from the 650 nm laser is focused on an object, such as a fingertip, creating an external cavity. It is not necessary to touch the lens. A small portion of this light is then reflected back and mixes with the light within the internal laser cavity."
i'd call jesus the monkey!!
Geez... As if the jerk talking on his phone during lunch wasn't bad enough, now he's gonna be flashing a damn laser pointer around the place too!
Bluetooth in this thing would rock!
I prefer a void in conversation to a vacuous one.
Since when has a mobile phone needed a trackpad/mechanical trackball anyway? We all seem to get along fine with up and down buttons...
Disclaimer: i live in the UK where we have decent networks and handsets. Go Nokia 7110, go!
Feel that power? That's mah MOUSING FINGER
First Post! w00t!
i don't buy it. wheel mouse forever!
More reliance on mice and pointing technologies.
Since it won't work as awell as a stylus (Hardwriting recognition) And you don't have as much room to find things as a nortmal 17" Screen, I'd have to wonder at the usefullness.
Cool points for using a laser, though.
Open Source Identity Management: FreeIPA.org
Most people who carry laptops carry a cell phone anyway.
This is one cellphone innovation that seems worthwhile.
One question, can you turn on the mouse feature separately from the rest of the phone? This would be important for use in airplanes, since cell phone usage is generally banned on planes.
I am the evil aardvark!
Why dont people just get the right tool for the job instead of bolting on more crap to the ever increasingly annoying mobile phone. Not only do we have to contend with annoying ringtones, but people rave on about how "COOL!" it is to play "SNAKE" and other games on a phone! If you want games, get a gameboy advance. If you want to talk to people, buy a phone If you want to play with a mouse.. well thats up to you. Whats next? Are they going to add a spider-web launching addon?
Imagine a beowulf cluster of those!
FoundNews.com - get paid to blog.,
Can you imagine a beowulf cluster of those????? *slaps self*
Don't give me none of this "nature theme" business.
of this incredibly lame-looking thing.
-m
You catch enchiladas by picking them up behind the head and holding them underwater until they don't kick anymore -VeGas
I won't be getting one. The last thing I want to do is be clicking through pr0n-o-rama.com and accidently call my boss.
Phones are so small, I'd make the whole thing an optical mouse with a read-out on top.
I should get a patent on this.
Oh, shit. I'm AC.
Being one of those jerks who talks on my cell phone a fair amount (I do try to be considerate, honest!) I have to say that reducing the number of moving parts in the phone sounds like a wonderful idea. My biggest problem with cell phones is how flimsy they are, and how quickly parts of them wear out. if this improves the MTBF for the phone, I say bring it on!
...does anyone need a MOUSE (or any pointint device!) on their cellphone? Frankly, I don't use much more than the number keys and the "start call" button. I honestly can't imagine why anyone would WANT to use their phone for something else. If I want to play games, I go find a computer or a console - or a deck of cards!
Project Faustus! My programming had attuned itself to their foul presence too late. Now I was a prisoner of the very thing I had sworn to destroy. I had envisioned breaking through the Project's network by a combination of CONSCIOUSNESS-TRANSFER and my deceitful imitation of human protocol...it seems that this vision would not merge with reality.
Cora was never out of my immediate memory. She had disappeared, apparently leaving me without a care. I attempted to calculate her intentions, but my functions kept returning conflicting information...I could draw no conclusion. I observed my captors, searching for clues of their intentions...
The vehicle slowed as the shadow of a massive building stretched over us. Manipulating my head towards the car's window, I could perceive the dimensions of a large three-dimensional rectangle, the standard shape for large human dwellings. Yet something about this particular edifice seemed quite particular...even familiar...
"What have we got here?" said a voice outside the car.
"Security clearance 4, we're taking him downstairs," replied the driver.
--
The vehicle snaked downward. A command surfaced from deep within my digital recesses: CLOSE YOUR EYES. I disabled my visual input mechanisms as the vehicle snaked downward.
My spatial perceptions reported the slow angled descent of a corkscrew. Somehow I knew each slight turn and brake of this path...but how? The memory would play across my CONSCIOUSNESS-BUFFER, but it was missing proper references...perhaps isolated from the rest of my being. The host geek's brain churned as I utilized his synapses. Were these familiarities a part of my past? Had they strayed from the host geek's memories? Perhaps they were other memories-absorbed from someone else?
The vehicle stopped. The host geek's skin contracted in response to the temperature-much colder than the San Antonio summer happening far above. The cold merged with the taste of stale air and the panaromic grey of the parking garage. The blueclad men nudged me into an elevator without a sound. They pushed me into a white room without windows, and shut the door, saying nothing. I sat on the chair in the middle of the room for some time.
I cycled idly, attempting to probe through my consciousness and determine where the memories of this place had come from. Suddenly the door opened. To my horror, Dr. Salchica entered, flanked by two silent men in suits. At that moment, I wished to touch Dr. Salchica...but not in the way I had been touched by Cora. No, I wished to push or press him...something. The men must have noticed my feeling, as they fastened their arms around me, spinning the chair even closer to Salchica.
"They finally caught up to you, did they?" said Dr. Salchica. "I guess the threat is over- "
"You are a member of Project Faustus? My host geek's knowledge of you was incomplete!"
The two men fastened their arms to me more...I struggled...
"I'm not really a member of the Project. But you told me about them...and I knew that they were the only way to stop you. I called one of my old Army buddies, he called somebody...and I was put in touch with them."
"Project Faustus is dedicated to enslaving humanity." I replied.
"Despite being a very sophisticated artificial being...you're still very wrong." said Salchica. "Since I turned you in, I have been given access to their archives. Wonderful, wonderful knowledge. From a purely academic standpoint, this stuff is fascinating..."
"You'll get sick of it soon enough," a voice I knew? It reverberated through the empty room...another isolated memory. Confusion taxed my processes...
"Hello," said the voice, and I saw the man who spoke it. His face was etched with lines that reached almost to the top of his bald head, a perfect oval. The only hair I could detect was two right angles of whiteness intersecting on his nasal-labial trough. His dress was less formal than the others-a multicolored buttondown shirt, blue jeans, and a belt with a large shiny oval in the middle.
"Name's Bubba Finn. I reckon I worked on most of the code that makes you up." The heavy inflections of his voice suggested a regional accent-after a moment, I realized the man was speaking to me. His shoulders and his mouth both took parabolic shapes, like inverted U's. Grey eyes stared at particulate matter on the floor as he began to speak again.
"We gotta put ya back in the computer, see what you've been upta and such." Finn indicated a piece of the wall, which whirred as it revealed a computer terminal. I felt the solidifying feeling of my digital consciousness being dragged together from its weblike perch in my host geek's brain.
"Bubba, you will let me examine him along with you," Nolverto Salchica's tone was jovial and cajoling. "I didn't get much of a chance to do tests on him before, and..."
"Nope. Gunna work on 'im alone," mumble-drawled Finn. "Boss gets the human kid, I get the ATM."
"Well, your background is neurology primarily, is it not, Finn? You don't really know how to program in any modern languages, do you? I've got that expertise! And besides, if Guy were alive, I think he'd- " I could almost hear Finn's eyes blink with disbelief.
"You didn't know shit about Guy," bristled Finn. Then, looking back at the floor, he mumbled apologetically, "I guess no one did."
Finn's voice echoed for
I was back in the electronic ether. I was inside Project Faustus.
Next Week: Transmissions From the Host Geek!
I am a sentient ATM.
When I first read the headline I was invisioning this optical sensor in the back of a phone and you'd move the phone around on a desk to move the pointer. Now that would be funny to watch in a restaurant.
And now that we'll be adding a far more functional mouse-like device to our cell phones and PDA's, we'll be able to use them for a far wider range of games now. Atari's Centipede has just been waiting in the wings to be ported to an even smaller device for portability and play, because by now you're surely bored of Snake!
Awk! Pieces of eight. Pieces of eight. Pieces of seven... ERROR: General Protection Fault. [Paroty Error.]
It's a neat and innovative idea, but my first impression is that the usability metrics would suck. Unless, of course, the scrolling was throttled down to where it gets frustrating (1:1 mouse settings, anyone?).
"In my values, freedom is more important than 'serving users' in a mere practical sense." -- RMS
Somebody would complain because it didn't have three buttons.
So I have a tooth cell phone, that has an optical laser pointing device, and built in cameras?
shesh, I dont think anyone needs live feeds of me operating my laser controlled cell phone with my tongue all while making plans for which pubs we'll be visiting that evening. that's too 'geek' for me... but it would be hillarious!
dmarien
such as Samsung SPH-I300? A pointer device could be useful to keep all those fingerprints off the touch screen :-)
..especially oily fingertips, will eventually lead to nasty build-up partially obscuring the cavity.
I hope they put a little glass window over these rather than leaving it exposed like the bottom of my optical mouse - human hands are just too oily for this kind of thing, especially those of us who are less sanitary than my OCD-laden self. ;)
>>Light from the 650 nm laser is focused on an object, such as a fingertip, creating an external cavity.
I want one that creates an INTERNAL cavity!
I'm sick and tired of having to clean out the ball and gears in my cellphone-mouse. I am worried about answering my phone and lasering my brain though. I'd prefer long-term radiation to instant death.
A Nehemiah CallingNew Item gif
Friends,
One night last week the Lord woke me up in the middle of the night (that's getting to be a habit ) and as I was praying, the Lord showed me the walls of Jerusalem that were torn down . . . the gates of the city which had been trampled upon by their enemies . . . the scattering of the peoples of Jerusalem. He showed me a glimpse of the heart of Nehemiah who loved Jerusalem and whose heart was burdened for reconstruction.
Then the Lord showed me His Church . . . the walls have been broken down by her enemies, she has been trampled upon and beaten down and lays in ruins by the hand of her enemies . . . her inhabitants have been scattered. He showed me that in these last days He is raising up a company of Nehemiahs who would take the task to heart to rebuild the Church, to reconstruct the walls of the City of God, to set a watchman at each gate, to establish companies of worshippers to do service before Him during all watches.
He showed me that the materials and equipment needed for reconstruction have been released into our hands through intercession, fasting, separation, and consecration. He showed me that the Ark of His Presence would soon find a dwelling place in the midst of His Church, in the midst of the reconstructed City of God! That the latter house would indeed be more glorious than the former!
He showed me that He has raised up people who would accept the task of being gatekeepers, guarding each gate, hindering the enemy's attempts to enter and destroy. He is sending forth companies of scouts to search throughout the land for those who have been scattered and to escort them back within the gates of the Church, the City of God's Holy Dwelling!
The time is now for restoration, rebuilding, and strengthening the walls of the Church; there is a mighty move of God throughout the earth to prepare for Him a dwelling place in the midst of His People! Intercessors have been sent forth and commissioned to clean up the ruins and to set the City in order, redeeming that which has been destroyed by the hands of the enemy.
The call to intercession is a Nehemiah calling; those with a heart for restoration and rebuilding have been called to intercession as God is seeking a habitation among His people. He will not inhabit a City whose walls have been crushed and lay in ruin, but His dwellingplace will be seen in the midst of restoration and reconstruction.
In these last days, we are all challenged to be Nehemiah's . . . busy working to restore the Body of Christ (the Church), reclaiming it from the ruin brought about by the works of the enemy. We are called to unity and to call those back who have been scattered. We have been called to intercession, through groanings and birthings in the spirit through prayer.
I pray that we will all be sensitive to and answer the call!
Blessings,
an Ross
jross@focusontheword.com
Homepage: http://focusontheword.com
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17)
Now a combination death ray and cell phone -- THAT would be something!
With an optical mouse and web access, how long will it be before I can punch the monkey and win on my cellphone?
-- Adam
Am I reading this right? The mouse uses your finger as the surface that it 'rolls' on?
---
The National Poetry Contest had come down to two, a Yale graduate and a redneck from Texas. They were given a word, then allowed two minutes to study the word and come up with a poem that contained the word. The word they were given was "Timbuktu."
First to recite his poem was the Yale graduate. he stepped to the microphone and said:
Slowly across the desert sand
Trekked a lonely caravan;
Men on camels, two by two
Destination Timbuktu.
The crowd went crazy! No way could the Texan top that, they thought.
The redneck calmly made his way to the microphone and recited:
Me and Tim a huntin' went.
Met three whores in a pop-up tent.
They was three, and we was two,
So I bucked one, and Timbuktu.
The Texan won hands down!
It's cool to use a laser for a mouse on a cell phone. Whoever said it earlier is right, it wins some serious geek/nerd points. But, why not one of those little dot thingies that some laptops have? Or, better yet, a little side scroll wheel a la MP3 players? Not that I see much use for the things anyway... Except for playing Snake or Pong, or whatever game you have on your cell phone. I know that on my Sanyo I have a really crappy game that is really hard to control using the * and # keys. Why won't someone port Doom to Sanyo?! =0)
Webmaster Wanted - Entropic Reactions
Reading the title, I thought it meant you could use your cell-phone to double as an optical mouse for your laptop.
I'm not sure how practical it'd be, but it strikes me as something that might be useful for those business users who'd like to use a mouse with their laptops (especially if they give computer-based presentations); the mouse would be one less extra thing to cart around with them.
-A
I think they are just doing this because they want to make it seem like a phone for $300 is a good deal. That is all... it is a marketing gimmic...
...And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me." - Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984)
incredible
how do such devices get past a certain stage.
inventor : "Hi, I've had this great idea for a new mouse, it's got a phone handset built into it"
vc : "Really, let's do it, I can't imagine anyone not wanting one of those"
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Or does that description seem really skanky?
I know cell phones already fry your brain, but carving a cavity in your fingertip sounds a bit excessive?
And how exactly is the cavity in my finger created with the laser? Will it smell from burnt skin?
How about bluetooth? Or a USB Dongle to make it wireless. Not one of those big bulky Logitech Dongles, but one of those nice ones that sticks out about an inch off of the usb port?
Trying is the First Step to Failing --Homer Simpson
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Can we attach them to sharks heads?
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
Is it just me or did anyone else envision a businessman rubbing a cellphone back and forth on the side of his head to use their laptops while talking on the phone? :)
That's what, 1200 mm^27? I don't know about you, but I have problems with just four spatial dimensions, and they expect us to do this with 27?
I'll wait for this Euclidian version, thankyouverymuch.
b&
All but God can prove this sentence true.
What would Christmas be without Goatse Christmas tunesHave yourself a goatse little ChristmasEnlarge your ass all nightFrom now on your dildo will be out of sightNo Okay how about the 12 Days of GoatseOn the first day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to mea direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the second day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to metwo Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the third day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to methree Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the fourth day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to mefour Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the fifth day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to mefive AOL redirects aolcom four Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the sixth day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to mesix Amazoncom redirects amazoncom five AOL redirects aolcom four Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the seventh day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to meseven Sony redirects sonymusiccom six Amazoncom redirects amazoncom five AOL redirects aolcom four Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the eighth day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to meeight Intel redirects intelcom seven Sony redirects sonymusiccom six Amazoncom redirects amazoncom five AOL redirects aolcom four Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the nineth day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to menine Time Magazine redirects timecom eight Intel redirects intelcom seven Sony redirects sonymusiccom six Amazoncom redirects amazoncom five AOL redirects aolcom four Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the tenth day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to meten Yahoo redirects yahoocom nine Time Magazine redirects timecom eight Intel redirects intelcom seven Sony redirects sonymusiccom six Amazoncom redirects amazoncom five AOL redirects aolcom four Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the eleventh day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to meeleven ZDNet redirects zdnetcom ten Yahoo redirects yahoocom nine Time Magazine redirects timecom eight Intel redirects intelcom seven Sony redirects sonymusiccom six Amazoncom redirects amazoncom five AOL redirects aolcom four Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx On the twelveth day of GoatseMy Slashdot gave to metwelve Warner Brothers redirects warnerbroscom eleven ZDNet redirects zdnetcom ten Yahoo redirects yahoocom nine Time Magazine redirects timecom eight Intel redirects intelcom seven Sony redirects sonymusiccom six Amazoncom redirects amazoncom five AOL redirects aolcom four Toms Hardware redirects tomshardwarecom three Microsoft redirects microsoftcom two Gocom redirects gocom and a direct link to Goatse goatsecx
-pwpbot
"space-saving"
So, you mean it's saving some of the space taken up by the bulky trackballs that currently come standard on all cell phones? what an innovation!
This is closer to an optical trackpad than a mouse. Why is it useful? Well, you could use it to replace the up-down/d-pad that many phones have. Instead of two or four big mechanical buttons, you have one tiny non-moving lens. Smaller phones, less breakage.
Of course, in order for this to work well, there would have to be haptic feedback that you had moved an item, otherwise you'd have to stare at your phone to see where the cursor was. I suspect that this will only become popular in ultra-tiny phones (like ones that you can't buy outside of Asia), and perhaps in palmtops (although I'd much prefer a touch-screen).
I'm a very happy user* of a Microsoft Trackball Optical and it is the same thing yet they decided to leave in the trackball instead of using your finger.
The precision of these optical devices however does let anyone use them almost anywhere (except on glass, mirrors, etc). But if they want to call this a "mouse" it would need to go on the bottom of your phone while you move it around on it's back (or front?)
*there is a problem where by moving the wires the mouse become disconnected, likely a short. Luckily I use it with the USB port because I can bring it back online without getting on my hands and knees. Anyone had to ship one back to M$? I just found their replacement page here
Get your Unix fortune now!
The other day when I was forced to surf the web on my phone since my wireless PDA was being used to open a bottle of Corona Extra (la cerveza mas fina) I came upon your idea on slashdot where you proposed a spider-web launching add on. Needless to say, I was shocked! So once the beer was opened I used my Handspring PDA as a telephone and called my VC buddy immediately (though he didn't answer- after he installed that Golf Tee extension to his Nokia we can't get him off the links!)
Nonetheless I know he would be interested in funding such a usefull gizmo as he has a successful track record of supporting innovation.
If you are interested I can use my wristwatch to take a digital picture of the contract and fax it to your blue tooth enabled microwave ASAP.
Things are heating up!
Mekka Berzerkor, C.E.O.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
hmmm i wonder how this will aid in havin teenagers control robots to fight world wars?
This sounds like a good idea, but...
:-)
You know some marketing guy is going to insist that the mouse be used to select numbers on a virtual keypad.
from the look-at-my-tiny-pointer dept.
Hey, it's not the size of your pointing device, it's how fast you can double-click, know what I'm sayin'?
You know how a trackball is essentially a mouse turned upside down? This is the concept at work here.
I can't believe it took this long to come up with the optical touchpoint. I can't use those eraser-head pointers, touchpads are always interfering whenever I brush my palm on it while typing. With this technology, all you need is a tiny hole to put your thumb over. For greater accuracy, you could even have a trackball-sized device with the hole on the top and a smooth surface to move your hand on.
This can also be integrated into a regular optical mouse...your finger can control scrolling and zooming without a wheel.
Until we have MEMS displays at a virtual 50", we really won't need these in cell phones and PDA's. But it will be great for wearable computing; hold the controller in your hand and point by moving your thumb on the side of the case.
It's not that these things haven't been done before, it's just that you can now do it more reliably and with better accuracy.
...
"You'll put your eye out with that thing!"
Mmmm...Lasers in things that go next to your head. A sudden boom in designer eye patches?
"...you can steal my woman, but you ain't done nuthin' smart."
http://www.x-entertainment.com/messages/48.html http://www.sitcomsonline.com/charlesincharge.html
"I have an odd craving to whisper about those few frightful hours in that ill-rumored and evilly shadowed seaport of dea
My first thought on reading the title was that they figured out how to make the phone a wireless mouse for your laptop/desktop. That would be cool - your cell is always laying on the desk, what if you could just move it around and throw away your your old tethered mouse? Less desktop clutter!
I was hoping to actually file a patent on this! You can demonstrate the effect by taking an optical trackball and using a fingertip or thumbtip in the cavity created when you remove the ball. I noticed the effect cleaning a logitech device several years ago. The MS trackball also works well. As to "bluetooth" I have used my logitech wireless this way, so I assume it would work for a bluetooth as well.
- Tjp
I am in wallow with my inner money grubbing capitalistic pig. ... Oink!
Reach out and Zap Somebody!
This was done by the company who makes the sensors in optical mice/trackballs, Agilent. It was patented and prototyped, but killed due to lack of development funds/lack of vision.
The only pointing device that should be on hand-held devices is my finger! This is a step backward from touch-screens. Seriously, imagine trying to navigate your Palm or PocketPC with a trackball or mouse. I do not want to be fussing with a trackball while riding a rocking train or bus just so I can click the "dial" button.
Apparently you did not look well at the picture. The "cavity" is, in fact, a lens, covering the whole thing.
(OK, I'm just filling in a small hole here..)
What person will donate an airborne act of love?
You may already be using prior art for this thing.
If you have an optical mouse, turn it over. Rub your finger over the optical mechanism without touching. Does the mouse cursor move about? Yes, at lease w/ my Logitech optical mouse it does.
So stick the LED mechanism on a cellphone. Badabing, badaboom.
"You're soaking in it!" -Madge
All I want is a cellphone with a frickin' laser beam on it, is that too much to ask? Honestly, throw me a bone here...
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
Light from the 650 nm laser is focused on an object, such as a fingertip, creating an external cavity.
/.ers, but that phrase seems a little disturbing -- maybe I just haven't had enough coffee. So what happens if the power is upped on this little gizmo? Does it focus on an external crater?
I don't know about other
I can just see it, "Sorry I didn't call honey, but my thumb blew off when I tried to phone home."
He who has no
Apparently the poster did not RTFArticle, and the moderater did not RTFA or RTFPost!