Slashdot Mirror
The Mouse Vanishes
countertrolling sends in a clip from Wired that begins "...researchers at MIT have found a method to let users click and scroll exactly the same way they would with a computer mouse, without the device actually being there. Cup your palm, move it around on a table and a cursor on the screen hovers. Tap on the table like you would click a real mouse, and the computer responds. It's one step beyond cordless. It's an invisible mouse. The project, called 'Mouseless,' uses an infrared laser beam and camera to track the movements of the palm and fingers and translate them into computer commands... A working prototype of the Mouseless system costs approximately $20 to build, says Pranav Mistry, who is leading the project."
When can I get an invisible monitor? That's where the 1337 hackers are at!
So how many fellow slashdotters tap their fingers on their mouse or table without clicking while using their computers? I'm not sure I can see this being viable for a desktop pc. Maybe for netbooks though.
First post = troll. Cleverly worded post designed to enrage others = flamebait.
Once you have technology like this up and running why limit it to the X-Y axis? Being able to manipulate the interface with various gestures in three dimensions has long been a dream of science fiction. This kind of thing just brings it closer to reality.
So what's the DPI on my cupped palm?
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Keep It Simple Stupid... I love my mouse, I love my trackball. It's simple, it can easily be replaced, requires almost no processing power and can be knocked on the table when it does not work, just for anger relief.
This kind of device, I guess, would require a lot more computing power to use, would eventually be integrated, and at 20 bucks for the thing, would break in the blink of an eye. Also, what about lag? I hate this 2ms - 5ms lag in the iPhone...
Please, I want to keep my hardware, plastic optical mouse.
Ok, so it costs 20$ to make. I have the 20$ I just need the instructions and the Linux Drivers. Come on MIT we are waiting! ;)
...they came for my mouse's balls, and I said nothing.
Then they came for my mouse, and there was no one left to squeak up.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
"Cool" but not necessarily "useful." Case in point: the mouse in its present form gives tacticle feedback, which lasers do not. Likewise with keyboards: the physical feeling of pressing keys matters a lot.
Despite what they might have told you, humans do not have servomotors in their hands. We are pretty bad when it comes to making precise motions without any tactile feedback. This is why, for example, radial menus are so much better than linear menus -- you do not require highly precise motion, just a general direction.
Palm trees and 8
This is a terrible idea. The shape of the mouse provides support to your hand and allows it to fully rest most of the time. Cupping your hand over an imaginary mouse is fine for maybe an hour at a time, but is going to cause all sorts of strain for those who use a mouse for 6+ hours a day.
Here here! Tactile feedback is actually important when it comes to being effective with your input device. The best use I can see for this technology is an interface in which the direction in which the mouse moves is the only thing that matters -- anything else will just be too confusing to our brains, and efficiency will be lost. I could be wrong, but that is what I make of all this.
Palm trees and 8
Tapping on a desk with with a fingernail seems tactile enough to me. I just wonder if it can detect motion finely enough to let me "click" without having to "stage-mouse".
And my porn keeps scrolling rapidly up and down the screen!
You think you got it bad - I use a chalkboard for a desk.
It looks like your fingers have to normally stay in contact with the table. So how does dragging work and how do you keep from dragging the mouse all the time?
Technoli
This will be a boon for laptops though. I felt that trackpad is not as useful as mouse - this can alleviate that issue
rajmohan_h@yahoo.com
Your proposal is acceptable.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
Tactile feedback is actually important when it comes to being effective with your input device
Exactly. It's not JUST the screensize that makes a touch-cellphone keyboard uncomfortable.
Me too, but not because it "feels better." I don't move my whole hand when I move my mouse - I usually use my fingers to move my mouse around quickly (thus moving large distances on my screen) while keeping my palm stationary, minimizing hand movement.
Well, its a bit strong to say that they have no problems. Sure, they may be able to accomplish whatever task they need to using the trackpad alone, but I think most people would that they would prefer a mouse. Just because something works doesn't mean its the optimal way to do things.
We all know what to do, but we don't know how to get re-elected once we have done it
Oh, im pretty sure lasers can give tacticle feedback.
The question is if you'd really want that kind of feedback or not.
Most things are confusing to our brains until you get used to them.
My thoughts exactly! I'm not saying that it couldn't have future applications that are more useful but seriously MIT. We've got a record oil spill in the gulf, global warming, an energy and water crisis and you guys are figuring out how to build a trackpad without the trackpad? Fer goodness sake, we in the scientific world have really gotta get off this proverbial hard on for consumer electronics for a generation or so. There are better things to do.