Who Invented The Computer Mouse

A computer mouse is a device used for computer indications, which is held in hand and it consists of a small object equipped with one or more buttons and modeled so that it fits naturally in your hand. The lower side of the mouse consists of a device that detects the mouse’s movement relative to the surface on which it is put.

The 2D movement of the mouse is usually transformed into the moving of a cursor on the computer screen. Through this, the user can indicate on the computer screen a certain position, which is a major element of the graphic interface with the computer. The name for the mouse has been chosen because the device has the shape and size of a mouse, and the cable emphasizes the association. Until now there have been invented many types of indicating devices for miscellaneous application domains, that can have totally different shapes and operating principles than the traditional mouse, like: the trackball, the touch pad, the touch screen, the joy stick, the graphics tablet and the most recent: the Apple Magic Mouse.

The first mouse was invented in the early 1970s by the engineer Bill English from Xerox PARC; he replaced the outer wheels with a single ball than could move in any direction. The ball’s movement, was detected by two perpendicular wheels that were found inside the body of the mouse. This version of the mouse looked like an inversed trackball, and it was the first model to be used on personal computers between 1980 and 1990. The group from the Xerox PARC decided over the modern techniques, to use both hands to type at a qwerty keyboard, and the mouse only to be used when necessary.

The modern mice took birth at Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne under the inspiration of Professor Jean Daniel Nicoud and the hands of the engineer and watchmaker Andre Guignard. As result of EPFL, Logitech, launched the first popular mouse.

The optical mouse uses a diode light transmitter and a photodiode in order to detect the movement on a mouse pad surface, instead of moving parts as in the mechanical mouse. The early optical mice, as the ones invented by Steve Kirsch from Mouse Systems Corporation, could be used only on a special metallically surface: the mouse pad, that had a printed grid of fine blue and grey lines. The lack of attention in using the optical mice may cause wounds to the eyes; looking straight the LED can cause damage to the retina.

The laser mouse. In 2004, Logitech together with Agilest Technologies, introduced us to the laser mouse through the MX 1000 model. This mouse uses a small laser replacing the ordinary LED. The new technology can enhance the image details captured by the mouse.

The companies say that this leads to an improvement up to 20 times for the sensitivity to moving on surfaces, compared to the conventional optical mice.

The other invented devices we talked about:

- Trackball – the user moves a ball fixed on a device

- Camera mouse – a camera follows the head movement and moves the cursor on the screen

- Palm mouse – it is held in the palm and is operated with only two buttons

- Foot mouse – specially designed for people with head or hand disabilities.

- Joy-mouse – a combination between the joystick and the mouse, the joy-mouse is held in a vertical position as a joystick but moved like an ordinary mouse.

So, who invented the first computer mouse? It was Bill English, an engineer from Xerox PARC.

Watch tweets on: