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Mouse Uses RFID Instead of Batteries
ValourX writes "NewsForge (part of OSTG, like Slashdot) has a review of a mouse that is powered by RFID (and yes, it works with Linux). It's cordless and uses no batteries -- you just have to keep the mouse within 2 inches of the mousepad for it to work. What else could be powered by RFID?"
s/RFID/Induction
--fatboy
The statement that the mouse is powered by RFID is a bit of a misnomer. It may be RF that transmits the mouse movement, but it is actually Inductive Coupling. The mouse pad has a coil that transfers power to a coil in the mouse using magnetic flux. This transfer of power is limited to short distances. Passive RFID uses radio frequency to transmit the power to the tag and relay the information back to the "server". I think that using inductive coupling for Mouse power is a great idea! Anything to reduce consumption of batteries that wind up in a landfill.
All the worlds indeed a
So you have to keep it within 2 inches of the mat, and where does the mat get its power from? It either has batteries or is cabled.
I'll stick with my real wireless mouse thanks very much, no batteries just charge it once a week (or when I remember to put it back in its cradle).
Bush and Blair ate my sig!
So, whats the difference between this and a wacom tablet, besides the fact that wacoms are generaly superior? If you've never tried photoshop/other graphics app with a wacom, you're missing out.
> What else could be powered by RFID?
Paranoia.
One, it's not RFID. RFID is a means of identifying things, that happens to use the RF from the detector as a power source. You can use RF as a power source without it being RFID.
Two, bateryless cordless mice are old news. I've got a Graphire 2 next to me that's done that thing for three or four years.
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1984
This is another way of starting a sig with this and ending it with that.
Here is a link to the Cheap Mod, courtesy of Afrotech: http://www.afrotechmods.com/cheap/arnoldpad/arnold pad.htm
I don't mind having to recharge my wireless mouse if there was No Downtime. The Xbox 360 controller is able to recharge itself while in use by connecting it to a usb port. There's already a cable going through my docking station, might as well put it to good use!
The Matrix Tie Fighters (from the Death Star) Light Sabers Skin-Jobs (keep 'em from running) Electronically modded towels R2D2 ...On second thought it might be best to give R2D2 multiple options for power. He tends to get into trouble.
Esoteric reference.
w00t!
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
the point of wireless mices is so that the part you use is unemcombered, unless you really need to use the mouse on the arm of your lay-z-boy which i think more fittingly goes in the "Hey, thats cool" catigory then the useful one.
Damn the man!
What, they want to bring those things back? I threw mine away with glee when I first got my optical mouse. There is no way in hell Ill be using one again just for some wireless convenience.
I don't see what you are saying... There is a usb cable that goes to the mouse pad that powers the pad... The pad then transfers power to the mouse through a coil and thus you have a cordless mouse. I personally think it is cool because it is a cheap mouse without a cord... I hate batteries and weight, thus the reason I would never buy a real cordless mouse.
The mouse pad cannot be operated on any metal surface. Since the warnings about this are printed on the box, in the manual, and on the mouse pad itself, I figured it was in my best interest to avoid finding out why metal and power-over-RFID don't mesh.
Well there's a sentence that sure didn't end the way I wanted it to... Where's his sense of adventure?
probaly takes a lot of batteries then, if the pad is battery powered. (yes still have to rtfa, but it looks so much like old news that i'll skip this one)
Inductive coupling works (electric toothbrushes are charged this way too), but it is not very efficient, esp if the mouse is not right above the coil. my current batteries now hold out a few days, but with such an inefficiency added to it it may be more like a few hours.
This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
When I saw this I thought I had it made. 1.First post 2.Tinfoil hats 3.Profit Damn
...is that the mouse is responsible for position information, not the pad... Which is nice in some ways, because you mouse motion in real-world use doesn't always map nicely to the digitizing pad's cartesian grid.
:)
If your entire desk's surface was one big induction loop, this would allow you to have this mouse work over the whole of your desk (assuming there's enough power coupling). Beware the magnetic media, though!
So...the mouse isn't battery powered, but the mousepad is?
FTFA: "The NB-50 mouse pad does have a cord, and it connects to the computer via USB."
This is for people who don't want a wire on the part that moves, but don't mind having a wire on the part that stays put.
I know I don't tangle up my keyboard's wire nearly as often as I do the mouse wire, but I got an optical mouse partly because I don't like to be restricted in the area on which I can move said mouse. I do tasks that are conductive to large mouse movements, precise dragging and whatnot, so this isn't for me. Still cool, though.
You can't take the sky from me...
Yeah, I'd have to go with the "Hey that's (kinda) cool" reaction. When I got my first wireless mouse, the advantages were seen immediatly: I could use it anywhere on my desk and not worry about a cord. The way this thing is set up, it'd be more of a pain then a tradtional wired mouse, because not only would there still be a cord for the mouse pad, which the mouse needs to sit at least 2" from, but the mouse itself is useless unless it's on the mouse pad.
.messy).
For me, one of the nice things about having a wireless mouse is when I'm reading longer webpages, I often sit back in my chair, holding the mouse in the palm of my hand, and use the mouse wheel to scroll down the page. (which I could do with a wired mouse, only it gets. .
I'm sure there are better implimentations of remote RFID power, and it's probably going to end up being very common in the future, it's just I can't think of any right now.
The Internet is generally stupid
Try reading the article instead of posting stupid statements, the author of the article TESTED IT under Linux.
how is babby formed?
For a moment, I thought "First they put them in dogs and cats, now they're putting them in mice?" And then wondered why is it news that it's wireless? Was there something about the little critters that made it so you had to run a wire into your pet mouse for a RFID tag to work properly? And really, how often do peoples mice run away and then are picked up by animal control and scanned to find the owner?
Then I read the article and it made more sense.
The Internet is generally stupid
You can buy a bluetooth wireless mouse and run all over the place with it without worrying about bringing your receiver along.
This seems like it's just a really, really nice idea for desktops, where my MX700 needs to be cradled every night and still occasionally runs out of juice at just the wrong time.
So there's no cord, but you're required to keep it within 2 inches of a corded mousepad. What's the point of this again?
It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
So it not only lets the government (and/or aliens, communists, etc.) track you, it gives you cancer too!
Back in the day the KGB beamed microwaves at the US embassy to power bugs for spying.
The simplest bug I know of is antenna, half wave rectifier, carbon microphone. As the load varies (carbon mike changes resistance with sound pressure) the amplitude of a harmonic is modulated and radiated by the same antenna.
Since it's powered by inductive coupleing, not RFID, it's in the same category as my Sonicare toothbrush, except the toothbrush is more advanced.
The toothbrush has a battery that is inductively recharged when it's sitting in it's base.
I have used the toothbrush over 6,000 miles from it's base which is amore useful range than the 2 inch range of the mouse.
A wireless mouse with a battery that got recharged when you left it on the mouse pad but didn't have to be near the mousepad to work would actually have some utility. They need to add a battery.
So which technology fries the naughty bits more, RFID mice or laptops that use Intel CPUs? Inquiring minds must know! :^)
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New /. editors.
By removing the wire, you remove the drag on the mouse when you're trying to move it around. It's been my experience that a mouse isn't much good without a computer. If your computer sits on a desk, then it stands to reason that the mouse is only useful around the desk. Most desks aren't real large, and don't get moved around often. So this is certainly a nice thing, though I guess it does cut in to my ability to mess with the computer in the office while I'm out in the garage, should that for some reason be desirable...
... does it RUN Linux?
How about a liquid level sensor, perhaps in a beer mug?
An inductor is not a battery but stores electrical energy in the form of current and it probably what they use in this case. Also, a capacitor is not a battery and stores a charge. If I RTFA then I might be able to tell you which this probably uses, but I didn't. -Scott
I've seen a couple posts where people have said "Hey, the first optical mouse let me throw away the pad." and have just got to drop a quick note here.
I have several optical mice that *need* their pad, as it has a grid for the optics to read as you draw the mouse across it. So it took them awhile to figure out how to get the optical mouse to work with no pad. Just as it will take them awhile to figure out how to give the entire population of the Earth cancer by using Inductive style power beamed from satellites to power those mice.
"Genius may shine aloof and alone, like a star, but goodness is social, and it takes two men and God to make a Brother."
Yes, a bit off topic, but it was brought up by the article.
I have to feed my mouse weekly, but I use rechargable batteries. But it's better than paying for new batteries monthly.
This mouse uses RFID, it must be an evil plot by the goverment to spy on your mouse clicks; not only can Big Brother read your every click, but any rogue with a 10 megawatt transmitter and 50' dish in his unmarked van could read your mouse from 100 feet away.
--- You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad- Neal (not Cowboy) Boortz
Couldn't this technology be used to charge a battery inside the mouse? That way you can be charging the mouse while using it at a desk but you can still take it across the room with you.
As it turns out ... the mouse pad is powered by a ... hydrogen fuel cell ... will not loose it's charge for ... 6 hours
Wacom tablets use battery-less controls. Wacom has their particular technology patented, which is a big reason they're so popular. Their devices are very lightweight and never need batteries. While a pen is likely the most common device used with a tablet, Wacom sells mouses and (simulated) airbrushes that work the same way.
If you buy Wacom's cheapest Graphire pad, it comes with a mouse. From my experience, the input device must be within 1/2 inch of the pad in order for it to work.
Whatever the case, I don't see the point in having a wireless mouse, if the mousepad must be wired. But that's just me, I guess.
Wacom pads have been doing this thing for years, for both the pens and the mouse (though they use absolute positioning).
... if i spill my drink on the mousepad?
GETPKG - Package Management for Slackware
PaceMaker, Is that a mouse pad in your shirt or are you just glad to see me?
(a) This has nothing to do with RFID, as the parent stated.
(b) Mice powered by induction from a special mousepad (or top-of-the-mousepad) have been around for a very long time. Presumably these didn't catch on for the same reason that optical mice that required a mousepad with a grid didn't catch on -- people don't like being forced to have a particular mousepad.
(c) Tesla owns your ass, mouse-people -- he powered lamps with remotely transmitted power twenty-five miles away.
Any program relying on (nontrivial) preemptive multithreading will be buggy.
...if they implant people with RFID's then can we direct them with this mouse? Now that would be cool. "I told you to stop e-mailing the support que about what you thought of episode three. Now you'll feel the power of my force."
Or could we get even smaller ones implanted in our fingertips so we can gesture at our computers instead of using keyboards and mice? "Middle finger extended not understood, please clarify and click OK."
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
It's been my experience that a mouse isn't much good without a computer.
For future reference, mice are also very good as thrown projectiles: they're reasonable light, aerodynamic, and made of hard plastic. In addition, the corded variety can be used as a whip.
--
Promoting critical thinking since 1994.
Here's an invention, a string or "cord" tied between the computer and the wireless mouse to keep it from getting lost or misplaced.
I'll patent it and make billions!
It's just stinkin RF... there's no ID, morons.
Wow, all the benefits of a tablet without the intuitive pen like interface!
has anyone given thought to trying this on the rarely utilized infrared port on laptops? it's just another form of electromagnetic radiation right?
Wacom tablets (and others) have been doing this forever, just not using the "RFID standard" inductive coupling - but their own inductive coupling which predates the RFID standard by many years.
I've been using Wacom tablets, pens, pucks and mice for years.
My default mouse is the wireless one on my Wacom tablet.
No batteries - never have been.
This is different in WHAT major way???
--
Tomas
You guys ever heard of a little company called Wacom?
They make tablets for electronic pens and even made quite some pens for the TablePC.
Now, each Wacom tablet includes a "wireless" mouse as an extra. That mouse uses no power, but requires to be on the tablet to use it.
See the connection? (Or is Wacom also using an RDIF-like technology that's discussed in this topic?)
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Actually, the Wacom tablet is NOT pressure sensitive.
It uses RF to track your mouse (and/or) pen. Pressure is actually reported to the tablet by the pen through RF along with other parameters on fancier models (tilt, rotation).
The Wacom mouse and pen can be tracked by the tablet without contacting it at all. (Good for tracing)
I've had the original Braun electric toothbrush model for many years. Even though it contains a NiCad battery, the battery is recharged by a "RFID" coil in the base of the toothbrush: when the toothbrush is set on the base unit, the coil in the toothrush comes into proximity with a primary coil in the base, effectively forming a transformer and energizing the secondary coil and thus recharging the battery. Never mind that I've had to disassemble, de-solder, and replace the damned battery twice! >:-/
The description of this mouse sounds more like it relies on a similar de-coupled transformer than RFID. Not *everything* that lacks a cord/wires is RFID, for gosh sake! The author will probably watch the new War of The Worlds and then begin seeing aliens everywhere he looks, too.
You sure about that? The largest tablet Wacom makes is 9x12.
I apologize, the largest is 12x18.
Though I still think my point about the price is still valid. Wacoms ain't cheap.
http://www.teslatech.info/ttmagazine/v1n4/valone.h tm
http://www.braincourse.com/wirelessa.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla
Standing on the shoulders of giants.
whats the difference between this and a wacom tablet
Well, this probably isn't owned by a crazy, quasi-religious cult leader* for starters.
*Specifically, Sun Myung Moon.
If you use your computer as a media center, and wireless keyboard/mouse as the "remote controls, its
best not to have a 'pad' at all. I like just grabbing the mouse and/or the keyboard and take it to the kitchen ( where I can still see the computer display on the 84" projector screen ) and control the video that is playing ( usually French video capture, music or news ) while making coffee/eggs/etc. Heck, I like being able to use the mouse on the arm of a couch, a table, or whatever surface is nearby. It is extremely convenient ( in this situation ).
Anyway, the point of this post is to show another environment in which computer mice are used.
I can't afford a sig!
Like when you use a computer as a media center -2 9&threshold=1&commentsort=0&tid=227&tid=126&tid=1& mode=thread&pid=12666358#12669871
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1510
I can't afford a sig!
What kind of freaking nutbar are you? That made the kind of sense thats not.
Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
And why exactly is this news, anyway? I've had my Wacom tablet for five years, which has a pen and a mouse, neither of which has a battery.
This sounds suspiciously like the digitizer tablets of days gone by... Looking at this wacom puck, I see no batteries, no wires, and a little antenna loop around the crosshairs.
Reminds me of when Microsoft or Logitech (I forget who) touted their innovative "Optical Mouse", almost 20 years after Sun had optical mice.
Good things to keep in mind, definitely.