Vibrating Mouse
The Concept
Screen savers protect computers by turning on the screensaver and locking the PC after a short interval. Unfortunately, in schools and the corporate environment, it is not always possible for PC users to disable these features. This creates problems when students or staff do a presentation or show a movie on their PC. This led the students to come up with the concept of an intelligent mouse holder. The ‘Vibrating Mouse’ vibrates at intervals to ensure the screensaver is not activated and indicates to the user that the PC is in an unsafe mode.
The Creation
First students designed the mouse holder and manufactured it using a CNC milling machine. The housing was designed to fit a variety of mouse units with provision for the electronic components. At this stage the intention was to have a platform with which to experiment, using a motor with an eccentric to create vibration, and microcontroller circuitry to provide intermittent warning. The project was powered via USB cable from the PC ensuring a reduction in weight and overall size.
The students designed and produced their own PCB and wrote the code for the microcontroller. Initial testing, and some debugging, proved the reliability of the circuitry and code, with the exception of the vibration unit which did not move the mouse sufficiently to deactivate the screensaver. The group then embarked on a process of problem solving to improving the effectiveness of the vibration unit.
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