A MagLev Mouse With a Sense of Touch

MagLev Mouse:  Carnegie Mellon

The group has been working on the design for more than a decade, and they’ve now produced ten of the strange contraptions, which look something like a computer mouse floating in the center of a miniature inner tube . . . actually, forget the description, just check out the video demo from Carnegie Mellon below. One of the advantages of the maglev technology is that it reduces friction and other interference. So, even though the user is manipulating something in the real, physical world, the device makes it feel as close to virtual as possible. Generally, haptic technology could help in a variety of fields, including medicine, robotics, tele-operation and basic research into understanding the human sense of touch.