Pendulum Sensor using an Optical Mouse

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to measure pendulum motion using a standard optical mouse, with real-time and stored data analysis capabilities, leveraging LabView software for flexible operation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of an optical mouse as a pendulum sensor, including software for real-time monitoring and data analysis.

Findings

Resolution limited to approximately 50 micrometers by mouse dpi

Effective real-time pendulum tracking with data storage options

Flexible filtering modes in the software

Abstract

An optical mouse that is in common use with personal computers is employed to measure the motion of a pendulum. The pendulum can be monitored (i) realtime only, or (ii) also with data storage for later detailed analysis using Excel. The software developed for this purpose is a LabView executable algorithm. It allows the user to select among several modes that include filtering operations. The limiting resolution of this position sensor, which is in the neighborhood of 50 micrometers, is determined by the 'dpi' specification of the mouse.