It’s not every day that Microsoft Research displays its prototypes. Well, looks like the Windows 7 touchscreen fever is catching up faster. As the multi-touch capability of this operating system is facing some problems, the company is planning to tackle these issues with a series of prototype mice, informs Cnet. All these five prototype mice respond to multi-touch gestures.
The five mice developed by Microsoft have been named the Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR), the Orb, the Capacitive (Cap), the Side and the Articulated (Arty). As the name suggest, FTIR mouse uses the principle of frustrated total internal reflection and comes embedded with a camera. This camera tracks the user’s touch.
The Orb is a hemispherical structure that features IR-sensitive camera. The design of this mouse ensures that the user’s palm is in a comfortable position. The flexible matrix of capacitive-sensing electrodes of the Cap mouse tracks the position of multiple fingers on its surface. The notable features of this mouse include compactness and energy efficiency.
The Side mouse has been optimized to rest under the palm. The mouse creates a multi-touch area directly in front of it. This area is not restricted to the physical surface of the device. The Aryt mouse improvises on the concept of the Side mouse. It provides a base for the palm of the hand to rest on while the two arms can be freely moved around the table by the fingers.
Well, whether these prototype mice will turn into reality or not is still a mystery. Though Microsoft refrained from commenting, we hope these dainty devices make their way to the markets.
