Spaceball
The Spaceball is a 3D mouse from 3Dconnexion. The spaceball is usually operated with the left hand, while the right hand operates the normal mouse . This special input device is mainly used for construction with 3D CAD programs such as SolidWorks or UGS NX.
Characteristic of the spaceball is the spherical, elastically suspended cap covered with a rubber cover, which absorbs the user's hand movements. The difference to the Spacemouse from the same manufacturer is the shape of this cap.
Inside the sphere there are six differential light barriers, each of which monitors the bending of a resilient metal strip. The metal strips end in receptacles of the movable hollow sphere and each have only one degree of freedom. A user-specific circuit determines the manual forces from the 6 analog signals, taking a zero point calibration into account.