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Optical Mouse Saves Space in Cellphones 114

Posted by CmdrTaco from the look-at-my-tiny-pointer dept.
Chris writes "Researchers at Philips have integrated a space-saving optical mouse into a mobile phone for the first time. Dutch researchers at the Philips Center for Industrial Technology have developed a compact, optical interface for portable electronic equipment. The team says that its new input gadget can be easily integrated in cellphones, laptops and PDAs, providing an space-efficient alternative to a mechanical trackball or touch-pad for example. The device is made up of a low-power red laser diode and a detector placed beneath a lens. Light from the 650 nm laser is focused on an object, such as a fingertip, creating an external cavity. It is not necessary to touch the lens. A small portion of this light is then reflected back and mixes with the light within the internal laser cavity."
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Optical Mouse Saves Space in Cellphones More

Optical Mouse Saves Space in Cellphones

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  • Geez... As if the jerk talking on his phone during lunch wasn't bad enough, now he's gonna be flashing a damn laser pointer around the place too!

  • er... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by awx ( 169546 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:30PM (#3779845)
    Since when has a mobile phone needed a trackpad/mechanical trackball anyway? We all seem to get along fine with up and down buttons...

    Disclaimer: i live in the UK where we have decent networks and handsets. Go Nokia 7110, go!

    • Re:er... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Unkle ( 586324 )
      Mobile phones really don't need a mouse/trackball thing. I'd like to see an example of one that does (My phone has a "mouse" button, which is basically like a game controller touchpad. I think they did it to be able to put a cute little mouse picture on the box) Now, the real advantage would come with the second item mentioned: Laptop. I have used laptop trackballs, touchpads, and the little nipple thing. Touchpads are the best IMHO, but after about 5 hours working with one, my hand would cramp up and my finger would go numb. With this thing, I'd just have the hand cramp. It's a step in the right direction. Plus, you get the gee-wiz factor of it looking like something out of a sci-fi movie (see, I wave my finger over this spot, and something happens!) For PDA's, take it or leave it, Personally, I'd leave it, since a stylus is more versitile than a mouse.

    • Re:er... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by E-Mind ( 553686 )
      would be cool to be able to use your cellphone as a mouse for your pc :)
    • I'd rather have a nice rotary dial on the moby, for that retro feel..

  • Just what we need (Score:3, Interesting)

    by adamy ( 78406 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:31PM (#3779861) Homepage Journal
    More reliance on mice and pointing technologies.
    Since it won't work as awell as a stylus (Hardwriting recognition) And you don't have as much room to find things as a nortmal 17" Screen, I'd have to wonder at the usefullness.

    Cool points for using a laser, though.
  • Most people who carry laptops carry a cell phone anyway.

    This is one cellphone innovation that seems worthwhile.

    One question, can you turn on the mouse feature separately from the rest of the phone? This would be important for use in airplanes, since cell phone usage is generally banned on planes.
    • Most people who carry laptops carry a cell phone anyway. This is one cellphone innovation that seems worthwhile.

      I think he's talking about controlling the cursor on a phone, not a laptop.

  • Reminds me... (Score:4, Funny)

    by ultramk ( 470198 ) <ultramk@noSPAm.pacbell.net> on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:34PM (#3779878)
    of this incredibly lame-looking thing. [computer-accessories.biz]

    -m
    • I wish I could MAKE CALLS AND ACCESS INTERNET!!!! Maybe they'll build that into the pointer too.
    • incredible

      how do such devices get past a certain stage.

      inventor : "Hi, I've had this great idea for a new mouse, it's got a phone handset built into it"
      vc : "Really, let's do it, I can't imagine anyone not wanting one of those"

    • Re:Reminds me... (Score:2, Funny)

      by OxOx ( 578619 )
      So I'm thinking of a whole new product - take the cellphone optical mouse, add the mousephone and the Cymouse [cymouse.com] - "Cymouse knows the exact location of your head in a 3-D space. In the Cymouse world, we call this the 'direction'" - and you get a input device that uses lasers to create external cavities, monitors the position of your head, and lets you use the phone and get on the INTERNET at the same time! I'll be rich, damn you!

  • Well... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I won't be getting one. The last thing I want to do is be clicking through pr0n-o-rama.com and accidently call my boss.

  • No moving parts - very nice! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mellon ( 7048 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:35PM (#3779894) Homepage
    Being one of those jerks who talks on my cell phone a fair amount (I do try to be considerate, honest!) I have to say that reducing the number of moving parts in the phone sounds like a wonderful idea. My biggest problem with cell phones is how flimsy they are, and how quickly parts of them wear out. if this improves the MTBF for the phone, I say bring it on!

  • Why... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Carik ( 205890 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:36PM (#3779897)
    ...does anyone need a MOUSE (or any pointint device!) on their cellphone? Frankly, I don't use much more than the number keys and the "start call" button. I honestly can't imagine why anyone would WANT to use their phone for something else. If I want to play games, I go find a computer or a console - or a deck of cards!
    • Well, I'd like a quicker & less stressful (for a non-gameboy user w/o calluses on their thumb) way to scroll through my phonebook. There's one practical use for ya...
    • I think it is so that my one year old son can try to blind himself trying to look into the lazer-esqe light when he plays with the phone.

      Plus, as consumers, we're never satisfied with the same ol'.

      I've decided to mod my existing cell phone to use my 15" lcd display. This way the mouse might seem more at "home".
      • http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/electronics/5834.sh tml

        Walking around with an modded cell phone.. some incompetent idiot asked me:

        Sir, why are you having an giant screen against your head ánd why are you even talking against it?

        -> It's not just an screen, it's my modded mobile phone with an build-in 42 plasma screen [thinkgeek.com], now I can finally read who's calling me :)

        gee, some people just know nothing about technology :)
    • Have to agree with you and also point out that most recent phones use Voice Recognition software, so you don't even usually have to push more than one button - then say the name of the person you want to call...

      I should actually not say "most" recent phones, but I do know for absolute certain that my Motorola V120c has this feature
    • such as Samsung SPH-I300 [samsungelectronics.com]? A pointer device could be useful to keep all those fingerprints off the touch screen :-)

    • Re:Why... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Rob Parkhill ( 1444 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:48PM (#3779970) Homepage
      I had a nice Sony phone with a scroll-wheel/button on the side. It was sweet for scrolling through menus, phone numbers, etc. Very nice.

      Problem is, this mechanical bit was the first thing to die. I had a couple of these phones, and friends with these phones, and the scroll-wheel was almost always broken or flakey.

      An optical version of this, with no moving parts to wear out, would be a nice feature. And since you are not limited to one-dimensional movement as you are with a scroll wheel, new navigational ideas are possible (how about the entire alphabet on the screen, you just mouse over the the letter you want and tap, and it jumps to that letter in your phone book. I'm sure others can come up with better ideas.)

      And, of course, when DOOM is ported to a nice J2ME enabled phone, you're going to need something better than the keypad...

      • just wanted to tell you that I've personally played two different ports of DOOM with a Nokia 9110. Both support shareware and registered .wad's, one of them can even do DOOM2, and I've heard there are other versions as well... :)

    • Re:Why... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Ben Hutchings ( 4651 )

      Any pointing device is called a mouse these days, whether or not it's much like a mouse, as the average luser doesn't know what "pointing device" means.

      On a phone it's useful to be able to move through menus, text fields, and hypertext pages (WML or similar) quickly and fluidly. A roller only covers one axis; a small joystick covers both but can't be miniaturised that far; something like this could be ideal.

    • well then you've obviously never seen a japanese cell phone. those things are 4 inch monsters. they have all the features that ours have but they also have a built in digital camera (the quality and refreshrate is mind blowing) that can snap shot, save, send and stream videos to the people they call. now THAT'S what i call a phone!
    • Well, if you integrate a bluetooth chip in the phone as well, you've got a wireless optical mouse for your laptop, as well as a wireless modem. and, as has been noted, there's the replacement for a scroll thing, and as screens increase in size and UI's in complexity, easier selection of options.
    • You must not be a guy who goes with your girlfriend/wife to the mall... :-)

      The only time I play Snake and Memory, etc...
    • Use MVIS goggles and have the whole PC be the mouse. No keyboard or eye motion.

  • hmm (Score:3, Funny)

    by Kalewa ( 561267 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:37PM (#3779908)
    When I first read the headline I was invisioning this optical sensor in the back of a phone and you'd move the phone around on a desk to move the pointer. Now that would be funny to watch in a restaurant.
    • ...or in a movie theater.

      Now, not only do you need to set your phone to vibrate, but also turn your mouse off.

      Geesh.
  • And now that we'll be adding a far more functional mouse-like device to our cell phones and PDA's, we'll be able to use them for a far wider range of games now. Atari's Centipede has just been waiting in the wings to be ported to an even smaller device for portability and play, because by now you're surely bored of Snake!

  • Optical TrackPoint? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by scotfl ( 312954 )
    It's a neat and innovative idea, but my first impression is that the usability metrics would suck. Unless, of course, the scrolling was throttled down to where it gets frustrating (1:1 mouse settings, anyone?).

  • Of course, if this was a Mac ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06@@@email...com> on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:45PM (#3779953)
    Somebody would complain because it didn't have three buttons.

  • This is getting complicated... (Score:5, Funny)

    by dmarien ( 523922 ) <dmarien&dmarien,com> on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:45PM (#3779958) Homepage
    So I have a tooth cell phone [slashdot.org], that has an optical laser pointing device, and built in cameras? [slashdot.org]

    shesh, I dont think anyone needs live feeds of me operating my laser controlled cell phone with my tongue all while making plans for which pubs we'll be visiting that evening. that's too 'geek' for me... but it would be hillarious!

  • Scraping things across holes... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Jon Howard ( 247978 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:49PM (#3779974) Journal

    ..especially oily fingertips, will eventually lead to nasty build-up partially obscuring the cavity.

    I hope they put a little glass window over these rather than leaving it exposed like the bottom of my optical mouse - human hands are just too oily for this kind of thing, especially those of us who are less sanitary than my OCD-laden self. ;)

  • >>Light from the 650 nm laser is focused on an object, such as a fingertip, creating an external cavity.

    I want one that creates an INTERNAL cavity!
    • well, mod the phone so that the lazer is at 65000 nm.

      I'll bet you might see an internal cavity then...

      ;^)

  • About time! (Score:2, Funny)

    by jhampson ( 580482 )
    I'm sick and tired of having to clean out the ball and gears in my cellphone-mouse. I am worried about answering my phone and lasering my brain though. I'd prefer long-term radiation to instant death.
    • "space-saving"

      So, you mean it's saving some of the space taken up by the bulky trackballs that currently come standard on all cell phones? what an innovation!
  • Now a combination death ray and cell phone -- THAT would be something!

  • Imagine the possibilities!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by delphin42 ( 556929 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @12:51PM (#3779992) Homepage
    With an optical mouse and web access, how long will it be before I can punch the monkey and win on my cellphone?
  • It's cool to use a laser for a mouse on a cell phone. Whoever said it earlier is right, it wins some serious geek/nerd points. But, why not one of those little dot thingies that some laptops have? Or, better yet, a little side scroll wheel a la MP3 players? Not that I see much use for the things anyway... Except for playing Snake or Pong, or whatever game you have on your cell phone. I know that on my Sanyo I have a really crappy game that is really hard to control using the * and # keys. Why won't someone port Doom to Sanyo?! =0)
  • Reading the title, I thought it meant you could use your cell-phone to double as an optical mouse for your laptop.

    I'm not sure how practical it'd be, but it strikes me as something that might be useful for those business users who'd like to use a mouse with their laptops (especially if they give computer-based presentations); the mouse would be one less extra thing to cart around with them.

    -A
  • I think they are just doing this because they want to make it seem like a phone for $300 is a good deal. That is all... it is a marketing gimmic...
  • I know cell phones already fry your brain, but carving a cavity in your fingertip sounds a bit excessive?
  • Light from the 650 nm laser is focused on an object, such as a fingertip, creating an external cavity

    And how exactly is the cavity in my finger created with the laser? Will it smell from burnt skin?

    /jeorgen

  • How about bluetooth? Or a USB Dongle to make it wireless. Not one of those big bulky Logitech Dongles, but one of those nice ones that sticks out about an inch off of the usb port?
  • Can we attach them to sharks heads?

  • The hillarity of combo devices... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Navius Eurisko ( 322438 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @01:08PM (#3780127)
    Is it just me or did anyone else envision a businessman rubbing a cellphone back and forth on the side of his head to use their laptops while talking on the phone? :)

  • Not in *this* world (Score:3, Funny)

    by TrumpetPower! ( 190615 ) <ben@trumpetpower.com> on Thursday June 27, 2002 @01:08PM (#3780129) Homepage

    "The demonstrators were sized some 15 x 10 x 8 mm^3," says Duijve.

    That's what, 1200 mm^27? I don't know about you, but I have problems with just four spatial dimensions, and they expect us to do this with 27?

    "Within Philips, technology is available to integrate the device down to a few mm^3."

    I'll wait for this Euclidian version, thankyouverymuch.

    b&

  • This is closer to an optical trackpad than a mouse. Why is it useful? Well, you could use it to replace the up-down/d-pad that many phones have. Instead of two or four big mechanical buttons, you have one tiny non-moving lens. Smaller phones, less breakage.

    Of course, in order for this to work well, there would have to be haptic feedback that you had moved an item, otherwise you'd have to stare at your phone to see where the cursor was. I suspect that this will only become popular in ultra-tiny phones (like ones that you can't buy outside of Asia), and perhaps in palmtops (although I'd much prefer a touch-screen).
  • Although they say "mouse" this is actually a trackball with the trackball removed.

    I'm a very happy user* of a Microsoft Trackball Optical and it is the same thing yet they decided to leave in the trackball instead of using your finger.

    The precision of these optical devices however does let anyone use them almost anywhere (except on glass, mirrors, etc). But if they want to call this a "mouse" it would need to go on the bottom of your phone while you move it around on it's back (or front?)

    *there is a problem where by moving the wires the mouse become disconnected, likely a short. Luckily I use it with the USB port because I can bring it back online without getting on my hands and knees. Anyone had to ship one back to M$? I just found their replacement page here [microsoft.com]

  • hmmm i wonder how this will aid in havin teenagers control robots to fight world wars?
  • This sounds like a good idea, but...

    You know some marketing guy is going to insist that the mouse be used to select numbers on a virtual keypad. :-)

  • from the look-at-my-tiny-pointer dept.

    Hey, it's not the size of your pointing device, it's how fast you can double-click, know what I'm sayin'?

  • Finally! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by cybermace5 ( 446439 )
    You know how a trackball is essentially a mouse turned upside down? This is the concept at work here.

    I can't believe it took this long to come up with the optical touchpoint. I can't use those eraser-head pointers, touchpads are always interfering whenever I brush my palm on it while typing. With this technology, all you need is a tiny hole to put your thumb over. For greater accuracy, you could even have a trackball-sized device with the hole on the top and a smooth surface to move your hand on.

    This can also be integrated into a regular optical mouse...your finger can control scrolling and zooming without a wheel.

    Until we have MEMS displays at a virtual 50", we really won't need these in cell phones and PDA's. But it will be great for wearable computing; hold the controller in your hand and point by moving your thumb on the side of the case.

    It's not that these things haven't been done before, it's just that you can now do it more reliably and with better accuracy.


  • "You'll put your eye out with that thing!"

    Mmmm...Lasers in things that go next to your head. A sudden boom in designer eye patches?
  • My first thought on reading the title was that they figured out how to make the phone a wireless mouse for your laptop/desktop. That would be cool - your cell is always laying on the desk, what if you could just move it around and throw away your your old tethered mouse? Less desktop clutter!
  • I was hoping to actually file a patent on this! You can demonstrate the effect by taking an optical trackball and using a fingertip or thumbtip in the cavity created when you remove the ball. I noticed the effect cleaning a logitech device several years ago. The MS trackball also works well. As to "bluetooth" I have used my logitech wireless this way, so I assume it would work for a bluetooth as well.

  • The only pointing device that should be on hand-held devices is my finger! This is a step backward from touch-screens. Seriously, imagine trying to navigate your Palm or PocketPC with a trackball or mouse. I do not want to be fussing with a trackball while riding a rocking train or bus just so I can click the "dial" button.
  • All I want is a cellphone with a frickin' laser beam on it, is that too much to ask? Honestly, throw me a bone here...
  • Light from the 650 nm laser is focused on an object, such as a fingertip, creating an external cavity.

    I don't know about other /.ers, but that phrase seems a little disturbing -- maybe I just haven't had enough coffee. So what happens if the power is upped on this little gizmo? Does it focus on an external crater?

    I can just see it, "Sorry I didn't call honey, but my thumb blew off when I tried to phone home."

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