Surface shape analyzing device using optical mouse sensor

Instead of functioning as part of a pointing device in computing, an optical mouse sensor is used in the proposed device for surface shape analyzing. Besides of the flexible use of the optical mouse sensor, the proposed device is characterized by a small sensing area derived from the use of a ballpoint pen. The minimum of detectable height variance is restricted by the size of the ballpoint and the resolution of the optical mouse sensor. Experiments show that the proposed device can record the shape of smooth surface digitally and evaluate the roughness of rough surface statistically.