Optical Trackball

Posted by admin on July 29, 2010

The computing device that used to select navigate through computer content is called as an optical trackball. The optical trackball looks like it has a stationary base, a protruding ball housed in a socket, and one or more buttons that allow the user to perform the functions of clicking. Very rarely some optical trackball also contain a scroll wheel for ease of scrolling through web pages and text documents. The ball portion which at the top of the optical trackball is covered with dots arranged in a pattern. As the user handles the ball with his fingertips, IR optical sensors read the movement of the dots and then send the data to the computer. This feature may allow for a more precise tracking of movements, since non-optical sensors simply read the rotation of the ball on only two axes.