Tecnologia inercial para controle de cursor: um mouse baseado em acelerômetro

Abstract

The loss of tracking in optical mice on reflective surfaces compromises their usability in realworld scenarios. This study aims to develop and validate a hybrid optical-inertial model to improve cursor control when the optical sensor fails. The proposed solution integrates an accelerometer into the traditional system, using finite state machines (FSM) to dynamically switch between optical and inertial data according to the tracking context. The theoretical foundation addresses inertial sensors, optical mouse operation, and FSM models, emphasizing challenges in converting acceleration to position. The FSM was structured with three main states — Rest, Motion, and Reflective Zone — with transitions defined by calibrated acceleration and optical displacement thresholds. This is an applied, experimental, and quantitative study conducted in the embedded systems laboratory of the Federal University of Ceará– Quixadá Campus. Three experimental scenarios were tested: (i) ideal surface, (ii) reflective surface without the hybrid model, and (iii) reflective surface with the hybrid model. The hardware included an RP2040 microcontroller and an MPU6050 sensor physically attached to a conventional mouse. Trajectories were analyzed using cursor displacement precision metrics. Results showed that the hybrid model recovered approximately 97.5% of the lost trajectory on reflective surfaces, with a low standard deviation (2.6 units), ensuring continuous tracking through FSM transitions. The solution is feasible, low-cost, and adaptable to other systems with intermittent signal loss, such as wearable devices, gesture interfaces, or mobile robotics.