Researchers at Philips have created a laser-based optical pointing device that would integrate nicely into small electronic devices. It's kind of like a touch-pad, but instead of a "large" pad on which you slide your finger around, there's a small contact point that you slide your finger over. A laser tracks how your finger moves. At first it could replace the "scroll buttons" found on most cell phones, or the "jog dials" found on some (these mechanical bits are always the first to go). You could also add it to PDAs for a more mouse-like interface.
 Optical scrolling |
 Prototype device |