The Invisible Computer Mouse

Can an invisible computer mouse be a more useful alternative to the real one?

This virtual mouse can be used the way one would use the real one, except that some of the interactive gestures are different. Users rest their palms and fingers on a flat surface and perform the actions. The ‘Mouseless' device has been developed by the Fluid Interfaces Group at the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Pranav Mistry of Sixth Sense fame, who leads the project, says it is made up of an infrared laser beam and an infrared camera. The laser beam module is fitted with a filter which converts the laser point into a laser line, and an infrared layer of sorts is created just above the surface on which the computer is placed.

Motions of the hand are detected by the infrared camera and then interpreted in terms of cursor movements and mouse clicks.

Both the laser beam module and camera are embedded in the computer.

A fully functional prototype of ‘Mouseless' cost $20 to build.

But what are the chances of an invisible mouse catching on in a world dominated by the real mouse? What about the ease-of-use factor?

Mr. Mistry says: “We haven't done any long-term user study with ‘Mouseless' yet. But it is certainly more ergonomically relaxing to use. The reason is that one can use the pose one wants to use. We did some preliminary studies, and the results are amazing.”

Library of gestures

With improved computer vision algorithms, “an extensive library of gestures” could be implemented, apart from the common ones related to the mouse movement and clicks.

For instance, gestures to zoom in and out, as well as novel ones such as balling one's fist, could be included. A wider range of free hand motions would be possible if multiple laser beams were used. The resulting gestures would be indicative of action that a hardware mouse could not typically support.

Mr. Mistry had earlier won global attention with his ‘Sixth Sense' project, a ‘wearable gestural interface' that projects a digital interaction plane into the immediate physical environment and lets users interact with it by way of gestures.

The ‘Mouseless' project fits in well with the kind of research that he has been doing on virtual interfaces. It remains to be seen whether it will make its way to the desktops, and hearts, of users.