Blog of Wishes

A new simple and versatile input device called the MouseField, which enables users to control various information appliances easily without huge amount of cost. A MouseField consists of an ID recognizer and motion sensors that can detect an object and its movement after the object is placed on it. The system can interpret the user’s action as a command to control the flow of information.

Implementation of MouseField which consists of two motion sensors (taken from standard optical mouses) and an RFID reader (Texas Instruments S2000 Micro Reader) hidden under the surface. The RFID reader and the two optical mouses are connected to a PC through a USB cable, and they can detect the ID and the motion of the object put on the device. When a user puts an object with an RFID on the MouseField, it first detects what was put on the RFID reader. When the user moves or rotates the object, motion sensors detects the direction and rotation of the object.

An example of the interface where a user can enjoy music using a MouseField and CD cases which represent the music in the CD. All the music in the CD are saved in a music server, and an RFID tag is attached to each CD case. When a user places a CD case on the MouseField, a music player is displayed on the screen, shows the contents of the CD, and starts playing the music. The user can change the sound volume by rotating the CD case, and move to the next or previous music by sliding the case to the front or to the back. When the user removes the case from the MouseField, the sound stops and a screen saver is displayed placing a CD case starts playing music sliding the CD case plays the next music rotating the CD case changes the sound volume on the screen.

This is an experimental project, but the idea is very interesting.

– For more information about the MouseField project…