Agilent Technologies is equipping mice with laser sensors, the better to see on smooth surfaces such as highly polished wood or frosted glass.
The sensors are now available to all manufacturers of optical pointing devices, after an exclusive deal between Agilent and Logitech expired this month. That availability could mean cheaper, more-sensitive optical mice for all.
The first computer mice calculated hand movements by measuring the rotation of a rubber ball trapped between rollers inside the mouse as it slid across a desk. Unfortunately, their moving parts could break or become clogged with dirt. Optical mice do away with these moving parts: instead, an LED (light-emitting diode) illuminates the tracking surface and a miniature digital camera tracks the mouse's movement relative to imperfections in the surface. The system has one obvious limitation: It won't work on surfaces that are too smooth or perfect, since they don't give the camera any reference points.
By using coherent laser light instead of the more diffuse illumination of an LED, Agilent's new sensors can detect surface imperfections that are much smaller or fainter than those visible to mice with LEDs, so they can work on many more kinds of materials. The sensors were first used in a mouse introduced by Logitech at the CES show in Las Vegas in January.
Because the exclusive deal between Agilent and Logitech expired today, the sensors are now available to all mouse manufacturers, according to Ngoh Kee-Hane, vice president and general manager of the navigation products division of Agilent's semiconductor products group.
Good for Gaming
Agilent offers the sensors in three bundles, each containing a laser, a chip package containing a sensor and associated electronics, and plastic lenses and mountings to hold the optics in place. The bundles are designed for cordless mice, corded mice, and gaming mice, which are more sensitive to fast or precision movements. The components will sell for $5, $6, and $7 apiece, respectively, when purchased in large quantities--and that means a million or more units, Ngoh said, speaking by telephone from the Computex trade show in Taipei.
Many of the mouse manufacturers at Computex have shown an interest in the laser components, Ngoh said, and he expects products containing them to appear on the market within a couple of months.
Early next year, if all goes according to plan, the company will introduce a laser component bundle for entry-level mice costing between $3 and $4 each in large quantities, Ngoh said. That's comparable to the cost of an LED optical system today: high-end LED-sensor bundles cost around $4 per mouse, he said.
Laser Safety
People concerned at the idea of having an exposed laser shining out of the bottom of their mouse need not worry, Ngoh said. Strict safety rules apply to the use of lasers, and those used in Agilent's mouse components are "Class 1," which means they won't damage a person's eye even if stared at for prolonged periods. To get that rating, the laser components have to be designed so that their output power never exceeds a safety threshold even under fault conditions. The scale goes from Class 1 to Class 4; equipment in the latter class is so powerful that even glancing at the diffuse reflection of a laser beam in that category is unsafe.
For more coverage of Asia's largest technology show, see PC World's Computex news page.
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