The optical mouse as a two-dimensional displacement sensor

Abstract

Abstract Optical sensors are used extensively for displacement measurement. A cost-effective optical displacement sensor will be invaluable in applications where very high resolutions are not required. In this work, the optical mouse has been investigated to determine its suitability for two-dimensional displacement measurement. While the mouse worked only on objects with opaque surfaces, experiments conducted with a commercial unit with 0.0635 mm resolution showed that highly linear (average R2-value of 0.9914) and low error (mean square error (M.S.E.) value below 0.018 mm2) measurements could be attained. On the flipside, the unit could only operate if placed at a distance no greater than 1.25 mm from the object surface. Overall, the optical mouse has been found to be a viable two-dimensional displacement sensor. Its efficacy was demonstrated in measuring the viscoelastic elongation of polyethylene.