Responding to customer requirements for input devices that tolerate
extremely dirty environments and applications requiring aggressive
cleaning procedures, ITAC has introduced its new Dome Panel Mount
MOUSE-TRAK series of products tailored to these needs.
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GARLAND, Texas -July 17, 2000 - ITAC Systems, Inc., announced today six versions of its
ultra-rugged Dome Panel Mount MOUSE-TRAKŪ compatible with PS/2, Sun, and USB (Universal
Serial Bus) interfaces.
Responding to strong interest from its industrial automation and medical equipment OEM
customers, ITAC has introduced PS/2, Sun, and USB versions of its new Dome Technology
input devices in panel mountable configurations. ITAC's new MOUSE-TRAK Dome Panel Mount
products offer more ruggedness than industrial trackballs and better precision and control
than sealed touchpads. These new devices use a deformable dome mounted over a miniaturized
motion encoder mechanism to capture user inputs. In these products the user moves the top
of the deformable dome, much as they would move the ball in a normal trackball, to
communicate the desired direction and speed of cursor movement.
Don Bynum, President of ITAC Systems reports that "These devices are ideally suited for
extremely dirty environments such as mines and paper mills as well as to applications
such as clean rooms and medical applications where aggressive use of cleaning solutions
make other input devices not viable. The new Dome MOUSE-TRAKs, while inherently less
precise than our trackballs, have the advantages offered by a ruggedized and sealed touch
pad, but add significant precision, tactile feedback, and sensitivity that touch pads are,
so far, lacking."
In medical applications and wafer fabs, the use of aggressive isopropyl alcohol (IPA)
wipe-down procedures often damages the mechanisms of low-end mice. The procedures can
also cause clouding of the encoder window of optical "no moving parts" trackballs over
time, resulting in failure. In some industrial automation applications there is so much
dust and grit, sometimes corrosive dust and grit, that even ITAC's widely used Industrial
MOUSE-TRAK becomes contaminated, … even with its dust guard installed! In both medical
and industrial applications, loss of mouse functions can result in serious and expensive
system downtime at critical moments. ITAC's new dome input devices offer very high
tolerance for environmental contaminants at affordable prices. Pricing ranges between
$200 for single units down to $110 in OEM quantities.
The MOUSE-TRAK panel mount offers a compact footprint (4" x 4.5") and draws only 1.5"
in depth below the mounting surface. The product is designed to be attached to a mounting
panel using 4 machine screws with short standoffs to maximize flexibility for enclosure
designers. Available with either no buttons or with two buttons, the Dome Panel Mount
offers OEM equipment designers a great deal of flexibility since the units work mounted
at any angle. The two button models have one large key on each side of the ball and the
cable for the unit includes wiring to allow connection of a third key and ITAC's unique
instant speed control function. The "no button" models have connections for all four keys
to be supplied via externally mounted switches of the designers choice. The panel mount
products will also be offered as options on ITAC's EnviroCase Industrial Computer
Enclosures.
As a convenience, ITAC offers OEM designers the option of downloading case assembly
drawings in AutoCAD DWG format from ITAC's web site at
http://www.itacsystems.com/.
Complete technical specifications are also available via the web.
Plug and Play Convenience
Like all of ITAC's products, these new devices offer easy installation. Just plug them
in. There are no special software drivers to install - they work with the drivers that
come with your operating system (for USB users, Windows98 or Windows 2000 is required).
Priced at $200 (end-user quantity-one pricing), the Dome MOUSE-TRAKs are well below the
cost of ruggedized input devices on the market today.
A Family of Precision Input Devices and Factory Floor Ruggedization Tools
The MOUSE-TRAKs Dome Panel Mount are the most recent members of the MOUSE-TRAK family of
ruggedization and productivity options for Industrial, Medical, and Military applications.
About the Company
ITAC Systems, Inc., founded in 1977, is a privately held company based in Garland, Texas. ITAC designs, manufactures, and markets MOUSE-TRAK high-performance computer input devices used in manufacturing process control, transaction processing, and medical systems, as well as computer graphics, engineering, and government markets.
ITAC Systems, Inc., 3113 Benton Street, Garland, TX 75042. Toll Free: 800-533-4822,
Ph: 972-494-3073, Fax: 972-494-4159,
sales@itacsystems.com,
http://www.itacsystems.com/.
# # #
Members of the media who would like to evaluate the DOME Panel Mount MOUSE-TRAK,
should contact Bob Robson at 210-820-3070 ext. 100,
bobr@weinkrantz.com.
MOUSE-TRAKŪ is a trademark of ITAC Systems, Inc., registered in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. Other names may be trademarks of their respective companies.
