Logitech® Darkfield Laser Tracking: The World Is Your Mouse Pad
An Innovation Brief
The portable computer. For several years now, laptops have been the form factor of choice for consumers, and one of the predominant reasons for their ascendancy is the ease with which we can take and use them anywhere. And the computer mouse is often the most useful accessory in making this mobile world more comfortable and productive.
Many people enjoy the advantages of the mouse over the tricky touch pad. But, from hotels to coffee shops, conference rooms to the living room, you and your mouse are bound to encounter a broad range of surfaces. Although tracking technology has advanced significantly in the last two decades from ball mice, to optical, to laser some surfaces have remained a challenge. Without a mouse pad, today s mice couldn t track on extremely smooth or transparent surfaces such as lacquered tabletops and glass.
Beginning in 2005, Logitech the world s leading manufacturer of computer mice embarked on a multiyear research and development project to create a mouse that could overcome these limitations. After considering many options including Doppler radar, UV imaging and interferometry techniques Logitech® Darkfield Laser Tracking was developed.
Darkfield Laser Tracking provides precise cursor control on virtually any surface even glass1.
Darkfield is derived from the principles of dark field microscopy, which is used in laboratories around the world to detect the most difficult-to-see particles.
Debuting in the Logitech® Anywhere Mouse MX!" and the
Logitech® Performance Mouse MX!", Logitech Darkfield
Laser Tracking is the only current tracking technology on the market that works on glass2.
Breaking the glass barrier
Why is the ability to track on glass important? DarkField Laser Tracking is a significant technological breakthrough in the field of optical engineering for mice. And glass is common in more homes, businesses and hotels than one would think. In fact, a Logitech study3 found that
40 percent of respondents have a glass table. And 47 percent of them use their notebook computer on it at least once a week.
1
2
4 mm minimum thickness
As of its introduction on August 19, 2009
3
Survey fielded in November 2008 with 1239 mouse owners and mouse purchase intenders in the United States,
France and Germany
Logitech Darkfield Laser Tracking: The World Is Your Mouse Pad
But more importantly, the ability to track on glass sets a new standard for where you can confidently use your computer mouse. With glass now a viable surface to track on, you can certainly use the mouse anywhere else, including the glossy surface of your polished desk and the granite counter in your kitchen.
Getting to glass
Since its inception in the 1960s, the computer mouse s primary function has been to assist in the manipulation of on-screen information, primarily through precise control of the cursor. The
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