Spinning 'Orbita' Mouse Available in January

December 15, 2008 by Lisa Zyga

Enlarge

Cyber Sport's Orbita mouse replaces the scroll wheel with a spinning jog wheel for more intuitive navigation. Image credit: Cyber Sport.

It looks like a large shiny button, but the round object is actually the world's first wireless three-axis mouse, according to its designers, an Australian technology company called Cyber Sport. The company designed the Orbita mouse to overcome some of the limitations of conventional mice by replacing the conventional scroll wheel with a 360° spinning "jog wheel."

Cyber Sport says that the new mouse provides a more intuitive control center, better ergonomic handling, and higher efficiency. Rather than scrolling down a page with jerky vertical finger movement, users of the Orbita mouse can navigate by rotating the mouse left or right in a natural dialing motion.

The Orbita mouse has a small white button at the top, which serves as the orientation button. Pressing that button calibrates the mouse in the same direction as the arrow on the screen is currently pointing, so that left, right, up, and down navigating directions are based on that orientation.

The orientation feature is particularly useful for navigating in 3D gaming environments, Google Earth maps, and 3D CAD designs. The mouse could also have advantages in audio and video applications for frame-by-frame manipulation.

Because the mouse can be used at any angle, the buttons can also be used at any angle. The mouse has one "push" button and a series of "squeeze" buttons to serve as a "right click."

A third button, the "jog dimple" button, can be used to either spin the mouse or it can work like a standard scroll wheel button on a conventional mouse. By pressing this button, users can also switch between vertical and horizontal scrolling. Besides rotating the mouse with a finger, the device is sensitive enough that users can flick it to make it spin freely and continuously.

The Orbita mouse, which works with both Macs and PCs, will be sold for $98.50 starting in January 2009.

More information: http://www.cyberesport.com/

via: Engadget

© 2008 PhysOrg.com

• ShadowRam - Dec 15, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
  Terrible.... just put a thumb trackball on a normal mouse housing please...
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• gopher65 - Dec 15, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
  Agreed. That mouse looks like it would be extremely uncomfortable to hold for extended periods of time.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• wonko - Dec 15, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
  I lol'd hard at the Q3 scene. For gaming... *headshake* Everyone knows that for todays games a mouse needs at least 15 buttons!
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• axemaster - Dec 16, 2008
  • Rank: not rated yet
  If you say so... All I ever use to play Crysis is the middle wheel. The game is ingeniously designed to allow quick selecting without needing more buttons - the wheel acts 7 buttons at the same time.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• acarrilho - Dec 16, 2008
  • Rank: not rated yet
  And better neural interfaces than the current ones are coming. And that's already dismissing voice commands.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• CreepyD - Dec 16, 2008
  • Rank: not rated yet
  Why reinvent the wheel..
  I can see their thinking, but this looks totally unusable if you ask me.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• JessicaS - Dec 18, 2008
  • Rank: not rated yet
  The Orbita is actually very ergonomic due to its unique scrolling abilities and the fluid movements used to control the mouse. Also, while it may be used for gaming, it is not designed as a specialized gaming mouse.
  
  
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5