IBM Invents a Better Mouse

Local Tech Wire reports IBM Invents a Better Mouse – For People Fighting Hand Tremors

Big Blue scientists have created a mouse adapter that will “eliminate excessive cursor movement”, the company said. IBM has licensed the technology to Montrose Secam Limited, which is based in the United Kingdom. When available, the so-called assistive mouse adapter is expected to sell for less than $100. The adapter is designed to work with any operating system and is based on an imaging stabilization system used in some camera lenses, IBM said. An estimated 10 million people in the US alone suffer from hand tremors caused by a variety of reasons, including Parkinson’s disease.

ZDNetUK said The adapter uses a small microprocessor to apply a digital low-pass smoothing filter to the motion data from the mouse," explained Levine. "The effect is to suppress rapid tremor oscillations, which typically take place at a few cycles per second or faster, while leaving the slow, steady, progress toward the user's goal. A knob allows adjustment of the degree of smoothing, to suit the individual." It also has options to filter out short inadvertent mouse clicks, and to "clean up" double clicks that Windows would reject as too slow or too far apart.

Those without tremors tend to use the mouse quickly, and will notice that the computer is less responsive, said an IBM spokesman. This is one reason for making the device a separate box, which can be easily switched on and off by sufferers and non-sufferers alike.