Reading #4: Adaptive Mouse: A Deformable Computer Mouse Achieving Form-Function Synchronization

Comments

Steven Hennessy

Shena Hoffman

Reference

Adaptive Mouse: A Deformable Computer Mouse Achieving Form-Function Synchronization

Sheng Kai Tang, Wen Yen Tang

CHI 2010 - Atlanta

Summary

The authors have created a deformable, adaptive computer mouse and performed human studies (n=30) to evaluate its performance. The basic design is circular, splitting the circle into eight slices. Each slice contains two Hall sensors for detecting deformation. The mouse is made of foam sensor modules, placed on top of a deformable chamber which holds the circuit boards. The Boarduino was chosen to collect the sensor data from the mouse. The mouse also auto-calibrates its optical sensor based on the user’s deformation and orientation of the mouse. An initial study was conducted to collect data on how users performed specific task. Using these results, the mouse’s software was refined and a user study was conducted. The major results were qualitative, with user’s liking the “intuitive hold then clicks” and comparing the mouse to “magic”. The authors plan to continue their studies considering details like shape size, signal resolution, and tactile sensation.

Discussion

The mouse discussed in this paper is interesting, but might not be practical or easy to use. The authors claim to have provided a deformable mouse which is intuitive enough to use that no mappings must be explained. However, during their studies the authors positioned subjects in front a screen which indicated the current mappings being detected by the mouse. It would be interesting to see some studies of people using this mouse in everyday life for a while. The choice of foam is interesting, though it seems like it would not be pleasant to work with and would probably attract dirt pretty easily. I admired to use of the Boarduino to process the signal inputs. Overall, the authors have provided a solid implementation, which could benefit from additional user studies.

The infamous Apple hockey puck mouse.