1.

INTRODUCTION

space. The #asic principle #ehind its construction engineering and is the mechatronics multisensory

Every day of your computing life, you reach out for the mouse whenever you want to move the cursor or activate something. The mouse senses your motion and your clicks and sends them to the computer so it can respond appropriately. An ordinary mouse detects motion in the X and Y plane and acts as a two dimensional controller. It is not well suited for people to use in a 3 graphics environment. !pace "ouse is a professional 3 controller specifically designed for manipulating o#$ects in a 3 environment. It permits the simultaneous control of all si% degrees of freedom & translation rotation or a com#ination. . The device serves as an intuitive man&machine interface

concept. The spacemouse has different modes of operation in which it can also #e used as a two&dimensional mouse. 2.How does computer mouse work? "ice first #roke onto the pu#lic stage with the introduction of the Apple "acintosh in ./01, and since then they have helped to completely redefine the way we use computers. Every day of your computing life, you reach out for your mouse whenever you want to move your cursor or activate something. Your mouse senses your motion and your clicks and sends them to the computer appropriately 2.1 Inside a Mouse The main goal of any mouse is to translate the motion of your hand into signals that the computer can use. Almost all mice today do the translation using five components2 so it can respond

The predecessor of the spacemouse was the late seventies when the Aerospace (esearch '( controller '( )*erman Esta#lishment+ #all. !pacemouse has its origins in the

started research in its ro#otics and system dynamics division on devices with si% degrees of freedom ), dof+ for controlling ro#ot grippers in -artesian

Fig.3 The rollers that touch the ball and detect Fig.1 .. The guts of a mouse 3. The rollers each connect to a shaft, and A #all inside the mouse touches the the shaft spins a disk with holes in it. 6hen roller rolls, its shaft and disk spin. The following image shows the disk2 desktop and rolls when the mouse moves. and ! motion

Fig 2 The underside of the mouse's logic board: The exposed portion of the ball touches the desktop. 3. Two rollers inside the mouse touch the #all. 4ne of the rollers is oriented so that it detects motion in the X direction, and the other is oriented /5 degrees to the first roller so it detects motion in the Y direction. 6hen the #all rotates, one or #oth of these rollers rotate as well. The following image shows the two white rollers on this mouse2 1. Fig." # t$pical optical encoding disk: This disk has 3% holes around its outer edge. 4n either side of the disk there is an infrared 'E and an infrared sensor. so that the The holes in the disk #reak the #eam of light coming from the 'E infrared sensor sees pulses of light.

buttons that detect clicks +on either side of the .ire connector,.

In this optomechanical arrangement, the disk moves mechanically, and an optical system counts pulses of light. 4n this Fig.& # close'up of one of the optical encoders that track mouse motion: There is an infrared ()* +clear, on one side of the disk and an infrared sensor +red, on the other. The rate of the pulsing is directly related to the speed of the mouse and the distance it travels. mouse, the #all is 3. mm in diameter. The roller is 9 mm in diameter. The encoding disk has 3, holes. !o if the mouse moves 37.1 mm ). inch+, the encoder chip detects 1. pulses of light. Each encoder disk has two infrared 'E s and two infrared sensors, one on each side of the disk )so there are four 'E :sensor pairs inside a mouse+. This arrangement 7. An on&#oard processor chip reads the pulses from the infrared sensors and turns them into #inary data that the computer can understand. The chip sends the #inary data to the computer through the mouse8s cord. allows the processor to detect the disk8s direction of rotation. There is a piece of plastic with a small, precisely located hole that sits #etween the encoder disk and each infrared sensor. This piece of plastic provides a window through which the infrared sensor can ;see.; The window on one side of the disk is located slightly higher than it is on the other && one&half the height of one of the holes in the encoder disk, to #e e%act. That difference causes the two infrared sensors to see pulses of light at slightly different times. There are times when one of the sensors will see a pulse of light when the other does not, and vice versa. Fig % The logic section of a mouse is dominated b$ an encoder chip- a small processor that reads the pulses coming from the infrared sensors and turns them into b$tes sent to the computer. !ou can also see the t.o .

3.Three-dimensional user interfaces <or typical computer displays, three&

environment could possi#ly #e used for colla#orative work. <or e%ample, scientists could study three&dimensional models of molecules in a virtual reality environment, or engineers could work on assem#ling a three& dimensional model of an airplane. This is a goal of the -ro>uet pro$ect and @ro$ect 'ooking *lass #y ?ava. The use of three&dimensional graphics has #ecome increasingly common in mainstream operating systems, #ut mainly #een confined to creating attractive interfaces=eye candy= rather than for functional purposes only possi#le using three dimensions. <or e%ample, user switching is represented #y rotating a cu#e whose faces are each user8s workspace, and window management is represented in the form of E%posC on "ac 4! X, or via a (olode%&style flipping mechanism in 6indows Dista. In #oth cases, the operating system transforms windows.E workspace, and window management is windows on&the&fly while

dimensional is a misnomer=their displays are two&dimensional. Three&dimensional images are pro$ected on them in two dimensions. !ince this techni>ue has #een in use for many years, the recent use of the term three& dimensional must #e considered a declaration #y e>uipment marketers that the speed of three dimension to two dimension pro$ection is ade>uate to use in standard graphical user interfaces.

Three&dimensional graphical user interfaces are common in science fiction literature and movies, such as in ?urassic @ark, which features !ilicon *raphics8 three&dimensional file manager, ;<ile system navigator;, an actual file manager that never got much widespread use as the user interface for a Ani% computer. In science fiction, three&dimensional user interfaces are often immersi#le environments like 6illiam *i#son8s -y#erspace or Beal !tephenson8s "etaverse. Three&dimensional graphics are currently mostly used in computer games, art and computer&aided design )-A +. There have #een several attempts at making three&dimensional desktop environments like !un8s @ro$ect 'ooking *lass or !phereX@ from !phere Inc. A three&dimensional computing

continuing to update the content of those

represented in the form of E%posC on "ac 4! X, or via a (olode%&style flipping mechanism in 6indows Dista. In #oth cases, the operating system transforms windows on&the&fly while continuing to update the content of those windows. Interfaces for the X 6indow !ystem have also implemented advanced three&dimensional user interfaces through compositing window managers such as Feryl and -ompiG using the AI*'X or X*' architectures, allowing for the usage of 4pen*' to animate the user8s interactions with the desktop.

Another #ranch in the three&dimensional desktop environment is the three&dimensional graphical user interfaces that take the desktop metaphor a step further, like the FumpTop, where a user can manipulate documents and windows as if they were ;real world; documents, with realistic movement and physics. 6ith the current pace on three& dimensional and related hardware evolution, pro$ects such these may reach an operational level soon. ".M)/0#T123I/ 4 ".1 5hat is Mechatronics engineering6 "echatronics is concerned with the design automation and operational performance of electromechanical systems. "echatronics engineering is nothing newH it is simply the applications precision of latest techni>ues in mechanical engineering,

and motion as an output. In effect mechanical systems are e%tended and integrated with sensors )to know where things are+, microprocessors )to work out what to do+, and controllers )to perform the re>uired actions+. The word "echatronics came up descri#ing this fact of having technical systems operating mechanically with respect to some kernel functions #ut with more or less electronics supporting the mechanical parts decisively. Thus we can say that "echatronics is a #lending of "echanical engineering,Electronics linked together with engineering and knowledge of and -omputing. These three disciplines are management, marketing. ".2 5hat do Mechatronics engineers do6 "echatronics design covers a wide variety of applications and from the physical of mechanical integration electronic miniaturiGation with manufacturing

electronic and computer control, computing systems and sensor and actuator technology to design improved products and processes. The #asic idea of "echatronics engineering is to apply innovative controls to e%tract new level of performance from a mechanical device. It means using modem cost effective technology to improve product and process performance, adapta#ility and fle%i#ility. "echatronics covers a wide rang of application product areas design, including methods, consumer computer instrumentation,

controllers

systems to the control of hydraulically powered ro#ots in manufacturing and assem#ling factories. -omputer disk drives are one e%ample of the successful application of "echatronics engineering as they are re>uired to provide very fast access precise positioning and ro#ustness against various distur#ances. An intelligent window shade that opens and closes according to the amount of sun e%posure is another e%ample of a "echatronics application.

manufacturing

integration and process and device control. A typical "echatronic system picks up signals processes them and generates forces

35khG lines connecting all sensor and "echatronics engineering may #e involved in the design of e>uipments and ro#ots for under water or mining e%ploration as an alternative to using human #eings where this may #e dangerous. In fact "echatronics engineers can #e found working in a range of industries and pro$ect areas including esign of data collection, The main sensory developments finished with these criteria have #een in the last years2 optically measuring force&tor>ue& sensor for assem#ly operations. In a more design for compact form these sensory systems were integrated inside plastic hollow #alls, thus generating ,&degree of freedom hand controllers )the '( control #alls+. The !@A-E&"4A!E is the most recent product #ased on these ideas. stiff systems. miniaturiGed triangulation #ased laser range finders. integrated inductive $oint&tor>ue& sensor for light&weight&ro#ot. In order to demonstrate the multi sensory design concept, these types of sensors have ".3 Mechatronic goals ".3.1 The multisensor$ concept The aim was to design a new generation of multi sensory lightweight ro#ots. The new sensor and actuator generation does not only show up a high degree of electronic and processor integration #ut also fully modular hardware and software structures. Analog conditioning, power supply and digital pre&processing are typical su#systems modules of this kind. The #een integrated into the multi sensory '(&gripper, which contains .7 sensory components and to our knowledge it is the most comple% ro#ot gripper #uilt so far )more than .555 miniaturiGed electronic and a#out 155 mechanical components+. It has #ecome a central element of the (4TEX space ro#ot e%periment. strain&gauge #ased , actuator systems in a galvanically decoupled way and high speed optical serial data #us )!E(-4!+ are the typical e%amples of multi sensory and multi actuator concept for the new generation ro#ot envisioned.

instrumentation and computeriGed machine tools. Intelligent product

e%ample smart cars and automation for household transportation and industrial application. esign of self&diagnostic machines, which fi% pro#lems on their own. "edical devices such as life

supporting systems, scanners and BA se>uencing automation. (o#otics and space e%ploration e>uipments. !mart domestic consumer goods -omputer peripherals. !ecurity systems.

component

force&tor>ue&sensor

mechanical design towards constructing &.47#/)M284) !pacemouse is developed #y the institute of ro#otics and mechatronics. '(& eutsches Ienturum far 'uft&und (aumfahrt &.1 5h$ 3* motion6 In every area of technology, one can find automata and systems controlla#le up to si% degrees of freedom& three translational and three rotational. Industrial ro#ots made up the most prominent category needing si% degrees of freedom #y maneuvering si% $oints to reach any point in their working space with a desired orientation. Even #roader there have #een a dramatic e%plosion in the growth of 3 graphics. At the end of the seventies, the Already in the early eighties, the first wire frame models of volume o#$ects could move smoothly and interactively using so called kno#&#o%es on the fastest graphics machines availa#le. A separate #utton controlled each of the si% degrees of freedom. Be%t, graphics systems on the market allowed manipulation of shaded volume models smoothly, i.e. rotate, Goom and shift them and thus look at them from any viewing angle and position. The scenes #ecome more and more comple%H e.g. with a ;reality engine; the mirror effects on volume car #odies are updated several times per second & a task that needed hours on main frame computers a couple of years ago. @arallel to the rapid graphics development, we o#served a clear trend in the field of The first force tor>ue sensor used was #ased upon strain gauge technology, '( integrated into a plastic hollow #all. )*erman system Aerospace dynamics started '( (esearch research on computer &.2 *(1 control ballMagellan's predecessor '( and modeling new parts in a 3 environment and transferring the resulting programs to B- machines. The machines are a#le to work in 7 or , degrees of freedom )dof+. Thus, it is no surprise that in the last few years, there are increasing demands for comforta#le 3 systems. espite control and #reathtaking manipulation devices for these kinds of advancements in digital technology it turned out that digital man& machine interfaces like key#oards are not well suited for people to use as our sensomotory reactions and #ehaviors are and will remain analogous forever.

Esta#lishment+ institute for ro#otics and devices for the ,&dof control of ro#ot grippers .in -artesian space. After lengthy e%periments it turned out around ./0. that integrating a si% a%is force tor>ue sensor )3 force, 3 tor>ue components+ into a plastic hollow #all was the optimal solution. !uch a #all registered the linear and rotational displacements as generated #y the forces: tor>ues of a human hand, which were then computationally transformed into translational : rotational motion speeds.

had the #asic concept centre of a hollow

#all handle appro%imately coinciding with the measuring centre of an integrated , dof force : tor>ue sensor patented in Europe and A!. <rom ./03&./07, the first prototype The whole electronics including computational processing on a one&chip& processor was already integra#le into the #all #y means of two small dou#le sided surface mount device )!" + #oards, the manufacturing costs were reduced to #elow J.,555, #ut the sales price still hovered in the area of J3,555. The original hopes of the developers group that the license companies might #e a#le to redevelop devices towards much lower manufacturing costs did not materialiGe. 4n the other hand, with passing of time, other technologically compara#le #all systems appeared on the market especially in A!A. &.2.1 9asic principle The new system used , one&dimensional position detectors. This system received a worldwide patent. The #asic principle is as follows. The measuring system consists of an inner and an outer part. The measuring arrangement in the inner ring is composed of the 'E , a slit and perpendicular to the slit on the opposite side of the ring a linear position sensitive detector )@! +. The slit : 'E com#ination is mo#ile against the system. !i% such systems remaining They differed only in the type of measuring system. Around .//5, terms like cy#erspace and virtual reality #ecame popular. Kowever, the effort re>uired to steer oneself around in a virtual world using helmet and glove tires one out >uickly. "ovements were measured #y electromagnetic or ultrasonic means, with the human head having pro#lems in controlling translational speeds. In addition, moving the hand around in free space leads to fairly fast fatigue. Thus a redesign of the #all idea seemed urgent. &.3 Magellan +the )uropean applications showed that '(8s control #all was not only e%cellently suited as a control device for ro#ots, #ut also for the first 3 & graphics system that came onto the market at that time. 6ide commercial distri#ution was prevented #y the high sales price of a#out J0,555 per unit. It took until ./07 for the '(8s developer group to succeed in a much cheaper optical designing

measuring system.

)rotated #y ,5 degrees each+ are mounted in a plane, where#y the slits alternatively are vertical and parallel to the plane. The ring with @! 8s is fi%ed inside the outer part and connected via springs with the 'E &slit& #asis. The springs #ring the inner part #ack to a neutral position when no forces tor>ue are e%erted2 There is a particularly simple and uni>ue. This measuring system is drift& free and not su#$ect to aging effects. 6ith the developments e%plained in the previous sections, '(8s development group started a transfer company, !@A-E -4BT(4' and addressed a clear goal2 To redesign the control #all idea with its 4pacemouse,: the result of a long de:elopment chain

unsurpassed opto electronic measuring system and optimiGe it thus that to reduce manufacturing costs to a fraction of its previous amount and thus allow it to approach the pricing level of high >uality @- mouse at least long&term.

on only one side of a tiny !" & #oard inside "agellan8s handling cap. It only needs a few milliamperes of current supplied through the serial port of any @or standard mouse interface. It does not need a dedicated power supply. The electronic circuitry using a lot of time multiple% technology was simplified #y a factor of five, compared to the former control #alls mentioned tedious #efore. The un#elieva#ly mechanical

optimiGation, where the simple ad$ustment of the @! 8s with respect to the slits played a central role in its construction, finally led to 3 simple in$ection moulding parts, namely the #asic housing, a cap handle with the measuring system inside and the small nine #utton key#oard system. The Fig ;.4pacemouse s$stem The new manipulation device would also #e a#le to function as a conventional mouse and appear like one, yet maintain its versatility in a real workstation design environment. The result of an intense one& year8s work was the European !pace"ouse, in the A!A it is especially in the European market place. Fut end of /3, !@A-E -4BT(4' '4*ITE-K e%pertise with $ointly #ecause of pointing approached their devices wide for Ergonomically, "agellan was constructed as flat as can #e so that the human hand may rest on it without fatigue. !light pressures of the fingers on the cap of "agellan is sufficient for generating graphics deflections in X, Y, and I planes, thus shifting a cursor or flying a 3 o#$ect translationally through space. !light '( and housing, a punched steel plate provides "agellan with the necessary weight for sta#ilityH any kind of metal cutting was avoided. The small #oard inside the cap )including a #eeper+ takes diverse mechanical functions as well. <or e%ample, it contains the automatically mounta#le springs as well as overload protection. The springs were optimiGed in the measuring system so that they no longer show hysteresisH nevertheless different stiffness of the cap are realiGa#le #y selection of appropriate springs.

computers to market and sell "agellan in A!A and Asia. The wear resistant and drift free opto electronic, , component measuring system was optimiGed to place all the electronics, including the analogous signal processing, AT conversion, computational evaluation and power supply

twists of the cap cause rotational motions of a 3 graphics o#$ect around the corresponding a%es. @ulling the cap in the I direction corresponds to Gooming function. "oving the cap in X or Y direction drags the horiGontally and vertically respectively on the screen. Twisting the cap over one of the main a%es or any com#ination of them rotates the o#$ect over the corresponding a%is on the screen. The user can handle the o#$ect on the screen a he were holding it in his own left hand and helping the right hand to undertake the constructive actions on specific points lines or surfaces or simply #y unconsciously #ringing to the front of appropriate perspective view of any necessary detail of the o#$ect. 6ith the integration of nine additional key #uttons any macro functions can #e mapped onto one of the keys thus allowing the user most fre>uent function to #e called #y a slight finger touch from the left hand. The device has special features like dominant mode. It uses those degrees of freedom in which the greatest magnitude is generated. !o defined movements can #e created. -onnection to the computer is through a 3m ca#le ) F/ female+ and platform adapter if necessary. Ase of handshake signals )(T!!-T!+ are recommended for the safe operation of the spacemouse. 6ithout these handshake signals loss of data may occur. Additional signal lines are provided to power the "agellan ) T!L(T!+. Thus, no additional power supply is needed. <lying an o#$ect in , dof is done intuitively without any strain. In a similar way, flying oneself through a virtual world is $ust fun. Touching the keys results in either the usual menu selection, mode selection or the pickup of 3 o#$ects. Technical specifications of spacemouse %.M#=)((#3: 9)3)FIT4 %.1 Features Ease of use of manipulating F)#T81)4 #3* fig < 4pacemouse &." Table'1

o#$ects in 3 applications. -ali#ration free sensor technology for high precision and uni>ue relia#ility. Bine programma#le #uttons to customiGe users preference for motion control <ingertip operation for ma%imum precision and performance. !ettings to ad$ust sensitivity and motion control to the users preference. !mall form factor frees up the desk space. ou#le productivity of o#$ect manipulation in 3 applications. Batural hand position )resting on ta#le+ eliminates fatigue. %.2 9enefits As the user positions the 3 o#$ects with

workman holding an o#$ect in his left hand and working on it with a tool in his right hand. Bow "agellan spacemouse is #ecoming something for standard input device for interactive motion control of 3 graphics o#$ects in its working environment and for many other applications. ;.F8T81) /23/(84I23 ;.1 F8T81) 4/27) "agellan8s predecessor, '(8s control #all, 4/27) #3*

was a key element of the first real ro#ot inspace, (4TEX& )3+, which was launched in April /3 with space shuttle -4'A"FIA inside a rack of the spacela#& 3. The ro#ot was directly teleoperated #y the astronauts using the control #all, the same way remotely controlled from ground )on&line and off line+ implying ;predictive; stereographics. As an e%ample, the ground operator with one of the two #alls or "agellans steered the ro#ot8s gripper in the graphics presimulation, while with the second device he was a#le to move the whole scenery around smoothly in , dot @redictive graphics simulation together with the a#ove mentioned man machine interaction allowed for the compensation of overall signal delays up to seven seconds, the most spectacular accomplishment #eing the grasping of a floating o#$ect in space from the ground. !ince then, (4TEX has often #een declared as the first real ;virtual reality; application. ;.1.1 >I48#( 47#/)M284)

the "agellan device the necessity of going #ack and forth to the menu is eliminated. rawing times is reduced #y 35M&35M increasing overall productivity. 6ith the "agellan device improved design comprehension is possi#le and earlier detection of design errors contri#uting faster time to market and cost savings in the design process. Any computer whose graphics power allows to update at least 7 frames per second of the designed scenery, and which has a standard (!333 interface, can make use of the full potential of "agellan spacemouse. In 3 applications "agellan is used in con$unction with a 3 mouse. The user positions an o#$ect with spacemouse while working on the o#$ect using a mouse. 6e can consider it as a

A most intuitive controlling device would #e a system that can #e instructed #y watching and imitating the human user, using the hand as the ma$or controlling element. This would #e a very comforta#le interface that allows the user to move a ro#ot system in the most natural way. This is called the visual space mouse. The system of the visual space mouse can #e divided into two main parts2 image processing and ro#ot control. The role of image processing is to perform operations on a video signal, received #y a video camera, to e%tract desired information out of the video signal. The role of ro#ot control is to into transform movements electronic of the commands manipulator. ;.2 /23/(84I23 The graphics simulation and manipulation of 3 volume o#$ects and virtual worlds and their com#ination e.g. with real information as contained in TD images )multi&media+ is not only meaningful for space technology, #ut will strongly change the whole world of manufacturing and construction technology, including other areas like ur#an development, chemistry, #iology, and entertainment. <or all these applications we #elieve there is no other man& machine interface technology compara#le to "agellan in its simplicity and yet high precision. It is used for 3 manipulations in , dof, #ut at the same time may function as a conventional 3 mouse. 1)F)1)3/)4 ).+ www.howstuffworks.com

)3+ www.wikipedia.com )3+www.altavista.com