A Mouse with Two Optical Sensors that Eliminates Coordinate Disturbance During Skilled Strokes

Abstract

The computer mouse is rarely used for drawing due to its body-fixed coordinate system, which creates a stroke that differs from the users original hand move- ment. In this study, we resolve this problem by implementing a new mouse called StereoMouse, which eliminates the rotational disturbance of the coor- dinate system in real-time. StereoMouse is a special mouse with two optical sensors, and its coordinate orientation at the beginning of a stroke is maintained throughout the movement by measuring and compensating for the angular de- viation estimated from those sensors. The drawing performance of StereoMouse was measured by means of having users perform the task of repeatedly draw- ing a basic shape. The results of this experiment showed that StereoMouse eliminated the horizontal drift typically observed in a stroke drawn by a nor- mal mouse. Consequently, StereoMouse allowed the users to draw shapes at a 10.6% faster mean speed with a 10.4% shorter travel time than a normal mouse would. Furthermore, StereoMouse showed 37.1% lower chance of making incor- rect gesture input than the normal mouse.