Sound Byte: “We designed an accelerometer based mouse which commands the mouse cursor by tilting the palm, so you do not need to rest your hand on any kind of hard surface.“

Our ECE 476 final project is an accelerometer based tilt mouse, with 2 buttons and an autoscroll ability. It consists of four accelerometers: two for position, and two for each of the buttons. The mouse communicates to a computer via the PS/2 protocol, or an optional PS/2 to USB converter can be purchased (additional cost of $3) and the mouse can be connected through a USB port. Furthermore, our mouse is OS independent and has been tested for computability on a Macintosh and on an IBM compatible PC.

The reason behind this project is two fold. One, it is just plain cool. This is proof that the method of control Tom Cruise had over his computers in the movie Minority Report is not science fiction nor far off in the future. The second reason behind this project is the possible health benefits it provides to the user of any computer. The most prevalent injury associated with using a keyboard and mouse is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This is caused by resting your wrist on a hard surface as you type or move your mouse. This pinches the nerves that pass into your palm, specifically the median nerve. This causes severe pain and tingling, which can usually only be cured by surgery (and it is not a complete cure either).

With an “in-air“ mouse, there is no need to rest your wrist on a hard surface. But if you do decide to rest your wrist on a hard surface while you control the mouse, the ergonomics of the mouse forces you to rest on the side of your wrist (i.e. the palm makes a perpendicular angle with the surface). We believe this does not cause pressure on the Carpal Tunnel nerves.