For this project I put together a custom mouse. I did as part of the Build2gether 2.0 — Inclusive Innovation Challenge hosted on Hackster.io.
Sponsor
Thank you JLC3DP for sponsoring the resin print I used for this project! They also sponsored the large white PCB that connected with the core board. You can visit their site here. I really like the resin print in the transparent style (they sand and use oil for it) as it felt smooth to the touch and it was cool that you can see right through it (I utilized an LED on the board so the transparent cover allowed me to see the LED as it lit up which was great). I highly recommend their services as the 8001 resin type really looks great in this way!
Project Links
- You can see my full article here on the Hackster.io site
- Mouse core board
- Larger board that attaches with the core board
Some background
The contest is an inclusivity based one where entry participants are able to get a “Superbox” of electronics hardware to utilize for various ideas to help people with mobility and vision issues. For this project I was addressing the issue of mobility troubles inside the home. I had taken part in the previous Build2gether challenge and realized that mice generally aren’t designed with disabilities in mind – one of the previous contest masters had discussed the discomfort of normal mice so I opted to use this as my focus.
My mouse
My mouse focused on trying to reduce the amount of movement that would be needed while also making the buttons easy to use with a simple touch. To accomplish this I utilized elastic strings on the perimeter to pull the mouse back to the default position between pushes. When the user puts their thumb on the lowest touch pad I allow the mouse to be moved. In this way the mouse can be reset simply by lifting your thumb and allowing it to naturally pull back into position so one can move around very easily by timing their thumb position as they need to move. Given a mouse allows more control than a thumbstick I believe this allows for maximum control for someone with limited movement range.
