The implementation of an optical computer mouse as a low-cost displacement sensor

Abstract

The accurate measurement of distance, position or displacement is a requirement in many robotics projects. This paper presents the investigation of a HP M-UAE96 optical mouse as a low-cost displacement sensor. Various resolutions were obtained on a Windows operating system in conjunction with MATLAB®. The Arduino IDE was used with a linear actuator module to accurately produce predetermined linear movements. The most suitable resolution was found to be 0.2 mm/pixel and was implemented on a parallel kinematic manipulator in a case study. Surface contact and length of measurement were significant factors that influenced measurement accuracy.