Wiggle My Mouse, Baby : )

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Thanks for all the replies!x
All fixed up


Hi all -

I have a challenge for you. I need a mouse wiggler, the simpler, the better. What the heck is that? Well, let me 'splain...

I need to show activity on my PC every 5 minutes as a productivity gage, and, well.. sometimes I am gone for more than 5 minutes at a time. No, I can't change my settings, that would be too easy, wouldn't it? I just need that mouse to wiggle every few minutes on occasion.

So, design one for me? The simpler the better. Yes, I do have some technical ability, just don't make it too electronic (mechanical is better), and smaller than a breadbox is a must. A home baked, individual dinner roll breadbox, that is.

Stuff I have tried that did not work:
Opening the window and attaching the mouse by way of string to an object which would flap in the breeze. Failure mode: No breeze on demand
Attaching the mouse to a battery powered cat toy. Failure mode: I have a cat. Said kitty played with the contraption, and flipped the mouse upside down. It doesn't work well from that angle... Additional Failure Mode: Said kitty stepped on the mouse buttons before she flipped it upside down! (That could have been real ugly, but I got off unscathed, lesson learned.)

So, what else? Any takers? SERIOUS REPLIES ONLY PLEASE!! I know, I know, like that's going to happen... But I'm hoping to get a few? Please? BONUS POINTS IF SOLVED BY A WOMAN! Oh my God, I might be sexist...

 

[drinkz]

Munky was the first to troll. Query won the war. Putting that much effort into trolling just means you're pathetic in real life.

 

[Emerson40]

Attach, using a ruler or some other means, the mouse to a small desktop oscillating fan.

Fan cooling the heat in your kitchen? Remove the fan blade and just let the oscillation of the unit do the job of hiding the fact you are not working.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

These are brilliant! Thank you!

You are correct, no microcontroller. Send me a part number / source? And... this doesn't have to be solved by a woman, I just said BONUS POINTS if it was. Didn't you read my OP? I'm sexist

This is also a great solution. However, my oscillating fan is giant, and I would have to go buy one... I'm keeping that as an option, though.

What else? Anyone?

 

[drinkz]

Munky was the first to troll. Query won the war. Putting that much effort into trolling just means you're pathetic in real life.

 

[rbijon]

....get that boytoy you keep around to do it ....

 

[Primalex]

Hi all -

I have a challenge for you. I need a mouse wiggler, the simpler, the better. What the heck is that? Well, let me 'splain...

I need to show activity on my PC every 5 minutes as a productivity gage, and, well.. sometimes I am gone for more than 5 minutes at a time. No, I can't change my settings, that would be too easy, wouldn't it? I just need that mouse to wiggle every few minutes on occasion.

So, design one for me?

This sounds as stupid as wifi tethering.

I doubt that there is a blackbox installed at your USB port that measures the electric current. So whatever measures your productivity is software and therefore a software solution for your computer exists.

 

[drinkz]

Munky was the first to troll. Query won the war. Putting that much effort into trolling just means you're pathetic in real life.

 

[Primalex]

And...you don't need to move the mouse.

Move the desk.



For example, get a digital picture frame. Put mouse on digital picture frame. When the picture changes properly, the mouse will move the pointer, as it assumed it moved.


Hell, I guess even those digital photo keychains you get for like 10 bucks will work.

The only difficult part is to prepare the pictures.

 

[shiny5437]

And...you don't need to move the mouse.

Move the desk.



For example, get a digital picture frame. Put mouse on digital picture frame. When the picture changes properly, the mouse will move the pointer, as it assumed it moved.


Hell, I guess even those digital photo keychains you get for like 10 bucks will work.

The only difficult part is to prepare the pictures.

Tried it. Put the mouse on my iPhone. Didn't move. Maybe the screen was too shiny.

 

[drinkz]

Munky was the first to troll. Query won the war. Putting that much effort into trolling just means you're pathetic in real life.

 

[GooodGurrl]

Have you tried a vibrator with adjustable speed/patterns? Depending on how long you need to be away from the comp. Those things last for hours on cheap batteries, so you should be fine.

Put it on an escalating rhythm... so it's very soft to start with and then gets faster for a bit, then slows again.

It should work if you lean it against the mouse, but then you run the risk of the vibrations pushing the mouse off. However, it might work if the vibrations are strong enough to jostle the mouse pad.

Only one way to find out.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Hi all -

I have a challenge for you. I need a mouse wiggler, the simpler, the better. What the heck is that? Well, let me 'splain...

I need to show activity on my PC every 5 minutes as a productivity gage, and, well.. sometimes I am gone for more than 5 minutes at a time. No, I can't change my settings, that would be too easy, wouldn't it? I just need that mouse to wiggle every few minutes on occasion.

So, design one for me? The simpler the better. Yes, I do have some technical ability, just don't make it too electronic (mechanical is better), and smaller than a breadbox is a must. A home baked, individual dinner roll breadbox, that is.

Stuff I have tried that did not work:
Opening the window and attaching the mouse by way of string to an object which would flap in the breeze. Failure mode: No breeze on demand
Attaching the mouse to a battery powered cat toy. Failure mode: I have a cat. Said kitty played with the contraption, and flipped the mouse upside down. It doesn't work well from that angle... Additional Failure Mode: Said kitty stepped on the mouse buttons before she flipped it upside down! (That could have been real ugly, but I got off unscathed, lesson learned.)

So, what else? Any takers? SERIOUS REPLIES ONLY PLEASE!! I know, I know, like that's going to happen... But I'm hoping to get a few? Please? BONUS POINTS IF SOLVED BY A WOMAN! Oh my God, I might be sexist...

If you google "usb mouse wiggler" you'll find commercial products that do exactly what you're asking for. It's a common problem!

 

[Cumference]

A "mouse jiggler"

Another gizmo i did not know existed!



It has to be the mouse moving, or just "activity"?
http://www.spacetornado.com/DoItAgain/
Is another possibility. It lets you set up your computer to perform whatever task you want repeated.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Too difficult to quote these all from my phone, so here goes...

drinkz - Nope! Can't write assembly, and thank you, thank you, and thank you again!

rbijon - You sexist bastard!!

Hi Primalex It is with true regret that I say your opinion will never mean a thing to me.

shiny5437 - I appreciate your empirical validation!

GooodGurrl - DING DING DING!! We have a winner! Bonus points to you I believe I have just the thing...

Bramblethorn - I'm certainly not ruling this out - tie for the winning spot, and thank you!! You get bonus points as well

Cumference - I didn't either, but if you read this entire thread, you will have noticed that I am stupid

 

[rbijon]

I was just making good use if you precious man power ....or shall I say, toy power?

 

[Bramblethorn]

A "mouse jiggler"

Another gizmo i did not know existed!

Also good for practical jokes on somebody who has a spare USB slot...

 

[Wintermute01]

If it's an optical mouse, put a mirror, or other fake surface, on to the shaft of a small electric motor. Mount the mirror & motor in a small box with a hole in the lid. Put the mouse over the hole so the led in the mouse shines through the hole, hits the mirror as it rotates and gets bounced back to the mouse's optosensor. Thereby kidding, the mouse into thinking it's moving, when actually it's the fake surface.

As to where you can get a small electric motor, that is left as an exercise to the reader.

 

[Que]

Attach, using a ruler or some other means, the mouse to a small desktop oscillating fan.

Fan cooling the heat in your kitchen? Remove the fan blade and just let the oscillation of the unit do the job of hiding the fact you are not working.

Exactly my idea...I hate how often I invent something and someone beat me to it.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

I was just making good use if you precious man power ....or shall I say, toy power?

Multispeed, multitasking... I'm in love

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

If it's an optical mouse, put a mirror, or other fake surface, on to the shaft of a small electric motor. Mount the mirror & motor in a small box with a hole in the lid. Put the mouse over the hole so the led in the mouse shines through the hole, hits the mirror as it rotates and gets bounced back to the mouse's optosensor. Thereby kidding, the mouse into thinking it's moving, when actually it's the fake surface.

As to where you can get a small electric motor, that is left as an exercise to the reader.

I've got just the thing for this as well!! I love this one!! Saturday morning project. I will name it William the First in your honor (WM01) Thanks!

 

[drinkz]

Munky was the first to troll. Query won the war. Putting that much effort into trolling just means you're pathetic in real life.

 

[Wintermute01]

A mirror is usually to perfect and too shiny. An optical mouse works by taking pictures of the surface and looking at the grain of the surface. The next picture it compares with the last to see if and where it moves. Not enough grain, no work. It's worth a try, but I don't think it'll work.


Too consistent. The processor in the mouse, if advanced enough, will reject this this as repetitive noise.

The surefire solution is the microcontroller and that's exactly what's in the things that a Google search turns up. With those you're not tricking a mouse.

Hence my using the term 'Fake surface' as well as 'mirror' which was admittedly sloppy of me. My MSc was in a branch of machine vision and AI. The other factor will be the speed that the surface appears to move, too fast and it will fail.

 

[drinkz]

Munky was the first to troll. Query won the war. Putting that much effort into trolling just means you're pathetic in real life.

 

[Drewmaster12]

Does it need to be a device or can it be a program. If you google mouse recorder you can record your mouse movements. Just get one that records and you can play on a loop.