Optical mouse as an inexpensive kilopixel camera

Optical mouse is a device that many of us come into contact with daily. Users using it may never give it a thought on how the optical mouse works. It contains a sensor based on optical navigation technology to acquire microscopic images of the surface the mouse is placed on. Then it processed the images and determines the direction and distance of the motion move by the optical mouse. This movement will then be reflected as the cursor on the computer user interface. In this report, we will see how we can obtain the microscopic surface images that are obtained by the sensor of the optical mouse to determine the direction and distance of the motion. The equipment needed and implementation of the design is shown. Through modifications and communications to the optical mouse, the images acquired by the sensor can be obtained. The images obtained are then displayed through a graphical user interface.Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering