Optical mouse

History and functioning of Optical mouse

An optical mouse uses a photodiode and a light-emitting diode, which help in mouse movement detection. This mouse can be used on any surface (rough or smooth) and results to speedy and accurate processing.


You can easily connect this mouse to your computers. It uses three kinds of interfaces to transmit data that includes:

RS-232C serial port: Through a thin electrical cord of a 9 pin connector, it will connect the mouse to the PC.

PS/2 port: With a thin electrical cord of 6 pin connector, mouse will be attached with your computer.

USB interface: With a USB connector, several different types of mice can be connected to your system. It includes advantages like plug-and-play. Also, it can be attached in front or on the back of your computer case.

Older Version Of Optical Computer Mouse

In 1980, first demonstration was shown on “Optical Mice” by two independent inventors. It arrived in two different varieties:

• The first one was invented by Steve Kirsche of Mouse Systems Corporation and MIT. It uses a four-quadrant infrared sensor and an infrared LED for detecting grid lines printed on a special metallic surface with infrared absorbing ink. In the CPU of the mouse, predictive algorithms calculate the direction and speed of the mouse over the grid.
• Another invention was sold by Xerox and is invented by Richard F. Lyon. It tracked the motion of light dots in a dark field of a mouse pad or printed paper by using a 16-pixel visible-light image sensor with integrated motion detection on the same chip.

Different behaviors have been observed for both types of mice. The mouse invented by Kirsch used an x-y coordinate system embedded in the pad, and when the pad was rotating, it would not work correctly, whereas, the x-y coordinate system is used by the Lyon mouse that works similar as mechanical mice do.

Advanced Optical Mice

An optoelectronic sensor is used for the working of modern optical mouse. It helps to capture clear images of the surface on which the mouse moves. With the advancement in technology and introduction of cost-effective computing power, a powerful image-processing chip is embedded in the mouse itself. Thus, it has eradicated the need to use a special mouse pad for the curser movements and the mouse is now compatible with a wide variety of surfaces.

The “Microsoft IntelliMouse” is one of the most successful optical computer mouse developed in 2001. It comprises of Hewlett-Packard technology that can work on almost any surface and is more advanced.

Moving further, digital image correlation is a modern optical computer technology, which is introduced by the defense industry for tracking military targets. Moreover, image sensor is also used by optical mice to capture natural textures like cloth, mouse pad, wood and Formica. With a light emitting diode, these surfaces will lit up at a grazing angle

Working Of Optical Mice

Optical mouse captures two images of the same object that are slightly offset from each other. It makes them transparent by placing them on a light table and until the pictures line up, slides one across the other. Thus, the offset between the pictures is shown by the amount that the edges of one photograph project against the other.

Thousand or more repeated pictures can be clicked by this mouse per second. Based on the mouse’s moving speed, every picture will be offset by the pixel’s fraction.