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Computer vision to replace mouse

An analyst from Gartner firmly believes that the days of the PC mouse are number. At nearly 40years old, the mouse only has an expected life span of 3 to 5 years more, especially on laptop and notebook set-ups. In its place, we shall use gestural computer inputs that rely on facial recognition, hand movements and touch screens.

The primary driving force behind the change originally stems from gaming. Although recent ‘breakthroughs’ in the technology market by Apple & Co. have made the touchscreen fashionable, computer games have been the driving force long before then. Most recently, Nintendo Wii has made the biggest splash, and in an industry still growing faster than the adult movie industry and pulling in more than Hollywood, who wants to argue?

Companies like Panasonic already make use of hand gestures in the home cinema set-up, while Sony and Cannon have live face and smile recognition. There is even a device ready to hit the markets in September that literally reads your brain waves, so by thinking, you will provoke a response (you have to wear a silly hat though).

Those in the PC mouse production business are, however, quick to dismiss such claims. Apart from trying to protect their share prices, do these companies have any good reason to think the mouse will live on, and not just in our memories? After all, Logitech have sold 500 million mice over the last 20 years.

To try and get to the cutting edge of this type of technology, I spoke with a leading research group based at the University of Oxford, England. Their speciality is in computer vision, and it became clear that artificial visual intelligence is making remarkable steps forward. Dr Simon Stringer had the following to say:

“The key is to base computer vision on the human brain and visual system. By copying the way humans see, we are able to create the most powerful technology that will eventually outperform any engineered solution. By using these techniques, computers can already recognise objects and faces from any point of view, even viewpoints it has never seen before.”

How long is left for the humble PC mouse? We think there will always be a place for the mouse, but those places may become fewer and less mainstream very quickly.

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