There are some ideas which someone somewhere has to try. Take [Uri Tuchman]’s foot mouse. It’s a computer mouse for foot operation, but it’s not just a functional block. Instead it’s an ornate inlaid-wood-and-brass affair in the style of a very fancy piece of antique footwear.
The innards of an ordinary USB mouse are placed in something best described as a wooden platform heel, upon which is placed a brass sole with a couple of sections at the front to activate the buttons with the user’s toes. The standout feature is the decoration. With engraving on the brass and inlaid marquetry on the wood, it definitely doesn’t look like any computer peripheral we’ve seen.
The build video is below the break, and we’re treated to all the processes sped up. At the end he uses it in a basic art package and in a piloting game, with varying degrees of succes. We’re guessing it would take a lot of practice to gain a level of dexterity with this thing, but we salute him for being the one who tries it.
This has to be the fanciest peripheral we’ve ever seen, but surprisingly it’s not the first foot mouse we’ve brought you.
The video is truly amazing. I love this project and I’m so excited for it’s creator for making such an incredible amalgamation of engineering prowess and artistic skill.
This could actually be a good idea with some more refinement. Being able to type and move the mouse without changing hand positions seems useful, despite the (probably steep) learning curve.
For years now I have this on my to “do list”:
Mount an old laptop’s touchpad in such a way it can be used with a big toe.
Will probably not work very well but I still want to try. ;-)
Avante garde. I love this take. I bet this has people with carpal tunnel thinking outside the box!
So they can get Tarsel tunnel syndrome too?
Don’t forget similar innovation described by Daniel Suarez in Influx.
I can’t see why it is so tall and short but the idea of one of those wooden sandals full length with the mouse embedded in it makes sense. They have a full width strap instead of the between the toes (ouch) thingie here.
Friction would have to be smooth like a slick floor mat and a cleaner pad with a hole in it attached to the bottom of the sandal, cleans as it works. Sensitivity would have to be set down to match the poor “dexterity” of of the foot compared to arm and hand on a desk.
I tried a foot mouse once. It didn’t work well for me. Part of the problem was just the fact that it was raised a couple inches, so really my entire work setup had to be raised as well. Another problem was that I couldn’t really just rest my feet on it without it doing something I didn’t want.
I think a more ideal foot mouse would be in the form factor of a mat (so no added height) with an active area and an inactive area where you could rest your feet, but easily move over to the active area.
Then there’s the whole shoe or no shoe problem and getting good tactile feedback, as well as use of toes.
I wonder if there’s a trackpoint designed for foot use?
I would name a large mouse intended for foot use a rat.