What is an Optical Mouse?
| Optical Mouse |
|
An optical mouse uses a small light-emitting diode (LED) to project a light to the surface. From that, the light bounces back into a complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. The CMOS sensor then transmits the image to a digital signal processor (DSP) to be analyzed. The DSP analyzes by detecting patterns in the picture and detecting how those patterns have moved after each image that is sent. This process is done at 18 MIPS (million instructions per second), so it's very quick. Based on how far the patterns move in each image, the DSP sends corresponding coordinates to the computer to produce the movement of the mouse. Because this cycle takes place hundreds of times a second, the outcome is a smooth movement of the cursor on the screen. In other words, there are hundreds of pictures taken, each second, of the surface in which the device is moved upon. From that the software determines how far the optical mice moves by changing patterns in each picture. Then the optical mouse sends the corresponding coordinates to the computer to move the cursor. |
Beginner's Help
BUG Club Home
