Invisible mouse

How do you show a picture of an invisible mouse? You don't. Instead of a physical mouse, an infrared laser beam and camera track your hand movements from the side of your laptop.

"Mouseless" was developed by MIT research assistant Pranav Mistry, and it doesn't need a special glove or markings. The laser beam is positioned to create a plane on the table where your computer sits. The plane lights up your fingers as they make contact with the table, and the camera tracks the contact points.

When your fingers "click" on the table, the camera registers the movement and the corresponding action is performed by the computer.

Since the prototype cost only $20 we could be seeing this technology in computers very shortly.

Source: ideaconnection.comAdded: 8 July 2010