Mauz is a Kickstarter project that is designed to attach to the iPhone’s dock, turning it into a device that is able to control computers using gestures and visual cues.
In other words, the Mauz morphs an iPhone into a computer mouse. The main product consists of a small dongle that plugs into the phone to function as a laser sensor.
The dongle links to the Mauz app, which turns on the iPhone’s front-facing camera to allow for gestures. For example, swiping a hand over the camera translates to a scroll, allowing for browsing without physical touch. Mauz also uses the iPhone’s gyroscope, which allows it to function as a 3-D mouse, and in practice, it turns out that it works similarly to the Nintendo Wii remote.
Though the Mauz can be used in mid-air, it is also designed to work as a standard mouse. Set on a desktop, it has a left/right button and a scroll wheel.
Mauz connects to the phone using Wi-Fi, but the company behind the device, Spicebox, is currently working on a Bluetooth version as well. Mauz comes with an SDK that will allow developers to integrate Mauz into different apps.
Though the Mauz is designed solely for the iPhone 4/4S, Spicebox is planning to release an iPhone 5 version. Mauz is still very much in development, as an active Kickstarter project. Currently, the company has earned 10 percent of its 150,000 goal.
Backers who pledge at least $45 can get a Mauz. The Kickstarter page lists June 2013 as a ship date, but Spicebox expects the unit to enter beta in April. The iPhone 5 version of the Mauz has a listed ship date of August 2013.
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Macworld/iWorld 2013: Mauz Turns the iPhone into a Gesture-Controlled Mouse [iOS Blog]