Who Invented the Mouse

Douglas Engelbart invented the mouse while working for Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in 1964. Douglas built and designed a mouse with the help ofengineer Bill English at the SRI research lab.

History of Mouse Invention

Engelbart thought of designing a pointing tool while attending a conference on computer graphics. After attending this conference, he thought of how one can input position through x-y coordinates in computers, which led to the invention of the pointing device. He envisioned the design to consist of two wheels that would move on the tabletop, and the combined rotations would then point the cursor on the computer display.

He was working on developing computer technology by augmenting human intelligence. During this, he thought that pointing devices could entirely change the way organizations solve problems. Then, with the help of Bill English, who was the lead engineer of his research team, he built thefirst mouse prototype. The mouse comprised two orthogonal wheels that supported a rectangular wooden shell, which had one button on top, as shown in the image below.

The wire connected to the pointing device resembled the tail, and the device altogether was similar to the animal mouse, hence the name 'mouse.'. SRI then filed and was granted a patent for the mouse in 1970 under the "x-y position indicator for a display system."

Engelbart and his team demonstrated mouse for the first time in the 90-minute public demonstration with most modern computer technologies. This demonstration later came to be known as "The Mother of All Demos" in 1968.

Evolution of Mouse

After Engelbart's mouse changed the way people use computers, Bill English revolutionized the mouse by making a 'Ball Mouse', and this was eight years after the first mouse. Ball mouse then remained in use for a long time in organizations.

After the ball mouse, Xerox first sold an optical mouse in 1988, which completely eradicated the use of a ball. Instead, LED and photodiodes were used to detect the movement and position the pointer.

These are some mouse that have revolutionized mouse over the years -

Logitech P4

The Logitech P4 was the first mouse produced by a Swiss company Logitech, in 1982. The P4 utilized both ball and optical encoders to precisely track the movement. Logitech collaborated with HP and sold over 25,000 mouse per year.

Microsoft' Green Eyed'

Microsoft produced its first mouse with two green buttons in 1983; hence named 'green eyed.' It had a steel ball beneath it and a smooth exterior surface.

Logitech C7

Logitech produced the first mouse, which would receive power from the computer rather than a separate power supply; this was not until 1985.

Microsoft 'Dove bar'

The Dove bar was ergonomically designed to fit in the user's hand. Launched by Microsoft in 1987, 'Dove bar' was similar to dove soap.

Logitech Trackman

Logitech launched this stationary mouse which can be operated through the thumb, in 1989.

Logitech Mouseman

In 1991, Logitech produced the first mouse that used radio frequency than the chord for connecting the mouse to the computer.

Genius EasyScroll

Mouse systems added a scroll wheel in the mouse for a better user experience and launched Genius EasyScroll in 1995.

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Intellimouse explorer used IntelliEye optical tracking technology and was launched in 1999. After this invention,a mouse could be used on any flat surface except transparent surfaces.

Logitech MX1000

MX1000 produced in 2004 used laser, as laser could precisely track surface details.

Today, computer mouse has a scroll button placedbetween the two buttons, left and right buttons. Many prefer wireless mouse while some also use wired mouse. Nowadays, we cannot imagine our life without a computer mouse. A mouse can control the placement of the cursor in the graphical user interface (GUI), making the functionslike pointing, selecting while using copy-paste option, creating a design, etc., much more accessible. Because of the computer mouse, we can click and see what operations we want to perform. Otherwise, we would be required to memorize all commands and input them using the keyboard. Many students, professionals, and developersuse computers andlaptops for their work.

Moreover, mouse has greatly enriched user experience. The invention of the mouse further led to other inventions such as touchpads and screen touch mobile phones. Additionally, computer-aided designing and other tools such as photo editing involve using mouse to a greater extend. Nowadays, developments and research are progressing on reducing stress in the arm and wrist while using a mouse.