If you are a science student or a person who recently bought a wireless mouse, you’d probably be wondering how the wireless technology works?
A wireless mouse works through the use of Radio Frequency (RF). Some mice use Radio Frequency (RF) or Bluetooth (BT) only, while others use both of them.
Now if you are a science student or someone interested in technology, then probably that’s not a kind of answer you wanted. We do know your interest and also the significance of the thirst you are in right now. Therefore, we’ll go deep in detail to know more about how it happens.
Wireless mouses are the successor to the wired mouses, which were the traditional types of mice everyone liked. However, until recently, when people discovered the wireless mouse options, they shifted from the tangling wireless to a no wire enjoying working experience.
This thing can only be understood by those who were traditional users and shifted themselves. However, the newer generation who started using wireless technology from the start may not understand the significance of what I’ve talked about right now.
Benefits of RF technology:
The question comes why people shifted from the wired devices to RF technology. First, the rise of the agitation of jumbled wires across the desk. Second, the hardship of using the devices from a distance. Although these are some of the significant factors considered before moving towards the RF technology, there are some which are way more beneficial.
- Shorter Response-Time.
- Lightweight and reduced Dimension
- Fast and accurate control.
- The components are inexpensive.
- It requires less power and can operate off batteries.
Okay, let’s now come to the point.
Understanding the basics of the wireless mouse?
Unlike the wired mouses, the wireless ones do not have any sort of wires. It’s a one step further in enhancing the ability of the mouse to perform effectively and provide an enjoyable experience to the user.
A wireless mouse uses RF technology to communicate the coordinates to whatever device you are using.
There are two main components for this to work.
Transmitter
The Transmitter is a kind of device inside the mouse, which sends the signals in the form of radio waves to the receiver’s end. It’s a kind of encoder, which encodes the mouse movements and sends it towards the receiver.
Receiver
The Receiver is a kind of USB device, which decodes the radio signals received from the transmitter. Its basic task is to understand the movement with the help of driver software and communicate it to the operating system.
How are radio frequencies measured?
Radio frequencies are measured in hertz (Hz), which means cycles per second. These cycles can vary from thousands of KiloHertz (kHz) to millions of MegaHertz (MHz) to billions of GigaHertz (GHz). For instance, 1 MHz means 1 million cycles per second, and here we are talking about the wave which completed it’s complete cycle a million times.
Synchronization and Security
Synchronization means the pairing of both the transmitter and receiver. It’s one of the fundamental processes which is required before we could start communication between them. So why is it important? And especially for security.
It’s important because we need to avoid interference from other active sources producing radio waves around us. For the receiver to communicate to the transmitter, they must be paired, which means their frequencies must match and also on the same channel. Otherwise, they wouldn’t communicate.
Now for security few things are considered.
Encryption Scheme:
Encryption is simply encoding the data being transmitted into a form that is not recognizable without any decoder. This helps in the protection of the data because other devices wouldn’t be able to decode it, even if they tried.
Frequency Hopping:
The frequency hopping is an additional feature enhancing the security of the data by periodically changing the frequencies between the devices communicating the data. This provides much of the security generally required in devices of such sort.
RF Mice Vs Bluetooth Mice; so, Which is better?
Bluetooth Mouses:
The most commonly used Radio Frequency (RF) technology is Bluetooth. These days Bluetooth is commonly found in almost any computer-related device we can think of involving communication such as Printers, Headsets, Mobiles, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), etc. Bluetooth technology has the potential of connecting various devices at the same time. That’s why it’s also called Personal Area Network or (PAN).
Bluetooth operates at about 2.4 GHz of speed, which is extremely fast and also reliable enough to keep the connectivity established in a distance range of 10 meters or 33 feet.
RF Mouses:
RF devices were slower as compared to the Bluetooth once. They function at about 27 MHz, providing 2 meters or 6 feet of distance connectivity. However, the advancements happened in RF technology which evolved it to be equivalent to the Bluetooth technology, touching the transfer rate of 2.4 GHz. Multiple RF devices in one room can result in cross-talk or interference, a drawback, which can be overcome by changing the frequencies at regular intervals.
If you ask me which one is better, I would say both of them. However, I would prefer the Bluetooth one.
