Ninox Astrum Crowdfunding

[iBerggman]

I figured I'd post this here because I imagine some of you might be interested in this mouse. This isn't my project or even text, it's just a copy paste of the document in the official press pack released by Ninox as well as links to the official pages so you can check it out. I just felt I had to try and help bring some attention to the campaign. I've been following the project pretty much since it was first announced so it's really exciting to finally see it get to this point. For me it seems to fix a lot of the problems I have with other mouse shapes and the hardware improvements and optimizations are also nice to see. The optical switches will be interesting to try as well, there's not too many mice out there (that I know of anyway) that use them. 

 

 

"The Astrum, Ninox’s third mouse, is the lightest fully modular computer mouse in the world, coming in at under 80 grams. With 13 different ways to configure the shape of the mouse, along with the highest quality materials and components available, it’s designed to deliver the best possible levels of comfort and performance. The Astrum has also been designed for extremely high levels of adjustability and customisation, from the hardware, through to the software.

Choose from 3 main shapes, with the choice of where you’d like the side buttons – on both sides, none at all, or the left, or right, all included in the box. Unique features of the Astrum’s shell include an adjustable sensor position, and 3D CAD templates which you can use to create your own attachments via 3D printing, or simply download and print community made designs!

The hardware inside the Astrum packs a punch, too, with infrared optical microswitches, rated at 90 million clicks, and an optical scroll wheel encoder, rated at 50 million scrolls. The optical microswitches are also extremely fast, requiring far less error checking delay than their mechanical counterparts. The Astrum also uses a top of the line sensor, the Pixart PMW-3360, which is capable of 12,000 DPI, and a max tracking speed of over 6.5 meters per second.

Changing basic settings on the Astrum can be done without software, simply use button combinations to change settings, such as your DPI and LED colour. However, fully featured software is also available, with much finer control over settings, including key binds, macros, profiles, LED control, and advanced sensor options. The software is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.

The Astrum was designed in England, by Ninox, and is a crowd funded project. If you like the sound of the mouse, please take a look at the Indiegogo page, its live now!"

Links

Promotional Video:
Indiegogo page:
Product Page:

Specifications

Sensor: Pixart PMW-3360
DPI: 100-12,000 in steps of 100
FPS: Up to 12,000
Max tracking speed: Over 6.5 meters/s
USB Polling Rate: 1000hz (125/250/500hz optional)
Lift Distance: Low or Medium height option
Angle Snapping: Optional, on or off
Buttons (front L & R): Infrared optical, 90 million click lifespan
Scroll wheel: Infrared optical, 50 million scrolls lifespan
Weight: Under 80g, no matter what configuration
Buttons: Up to 8
Dimensions: 
Shape 1: 133 (L) x 58 (W) x 39.6 (H) mm
Shape 2: 133 (L) x 67.5 (W) x 39.6 (H) mm
Shape 3: 133 (L) x 70 (W) x 39.6 (H) mm
Mouse feet: Pure PTFE
Cable: Super flexible
Coatings: Matte UV, Glossy, or Rubber
Optional software: Yes (Windows, Mac, Linux)

 

Edited July 23, 2018 by iBerggman

[DPI Wizard]

Quote

 In this software, you'll have full access to all of the options that the Pixart 3360 sensor offers, and also full LED control, profiles, and macros.

I'm curious how this works; is the macro making the sensor send the signals directly, or is the macro simply emulating mouse movement like Logitech LUA? I mostly use Logitech LUA now, and there's DLL's etc in between the macro execution and the actual movement so it has some drawback when it comes to analyzing acceleration and packet loss etc. I also use a Teensy, but it's a bit tedious to use.

Lots of nice features though!

[iBerggman]

35 minutes ago, DPI Wizard said:

I'm curious how this works; is the macro making the sensor send the signals directly, or is the macro simply emulating mouse movement like Logitech LUA? I mostly use Logitech LUA now, and there's DLL's etc in between the macro execution and the actual movement so it has some drawback when it comes to analyzing acceleration and packet loss etc. I also use a Teensy, but it's a bit tedious to use.

Lots of nice features though!

At this point I would assume it's referring to basic keystroke macro functionality like what you'd see on your typical mouse software but I can't say for sure, bst hasn't specified anything on ocn or reddit anyway. As far as I know he's taking it one step at a time and as such has lately been focusing mostly on getting the crowdfunding going smoothly so there hasn't been too much info released about the state of either the firmware or software other than that it has the basic functions you'd expect. I think the plan is to focus on the software side of things while the manufacturing process is underway.

What we do know is that both the firmware and software is developed "in house" so anything is possible really as long as it's supported by the hardware, might honestly be worth reaching out to him if you're looking for something specific. I asked about dpi interpolation for games like Warframe and he said he would actually like to include the functionalities of the povohat driver in the software if it's possible so he's certainly open to ideas. For a while the ability to use custom firmware was considered as well but I think that was scrapped because of potential issues with tournament regulations. 

Lots of info on here, some of it beyond what I understand to be quite honest: 

bst's reddit

Overclock.net thread

 

[KODa]

I backed this project and was among the first 20 backers. I've been following the development of this mouse from the beginning too. This is something that could be called real "endgame." Finalmouse and their cheesecrater mouse is good idea for lowering the weight but everything else is bit lacking. That cable being stiff and locked 500hz shouldn't be there especially at their pricepoint.

Anyway, even if you are not in desperate need of a new mouse, back astrum anyway

[iBerggman]

There's just been an update on the project, it will now use the 3389 sensor instead of the 3360

This is great news especially for those of use who use windows - game matching as the dpi steps of 50 instead of 100 gives us a lot more sensitivity options

As posted by bst (Russell) on the Ninox indiegogo:

Quote

Sensor changed to Pixart PMW-3389
After discovering that the Pixart PMW-3389 sensor is available, I've decided to change to this sensor. It has a few advantages over the current PMW-3360 sensor, which are as follows:

• The maximum sensitivity is increased from 12,000 DPI to 16,000 DPI.
• The sensitivity can be adjusted in increments of 50 DPI, vs the 3360's 100 DPI.
• The maximum tracking speed is increased to 400 IPS (10m/s) (150 IPS faster than the 3360 sensor).

It's an easy change to make, since it isn't much more expensive, and it is based on the 3360 sensor, so it only needs very minor tweaks to the firmware. The price and availability has been confirmed at the factory, so it is now officially the sensor the Astrum will use.

Thanks for reading, please stay tuned, there are more updates to come!

Russell

 

Edited July 23, 2018 by iBerggman

[potato psoas]

1 hour ago, iBerggman said:

There's just been an update on the project, it will now use the 3389 sensor instead of the 3360

This is great news especially for those of use who use windows - game matching as the dpi steps of 50 instead of 100 gives us a lot more sensitivity options

As posted by bst (Russell) on the Ninox indiegogo:

 

damn even better, I like it

[potato psoas]

Does anyone know of a comparable mouse to this one? Looks like the campaign got stuffed over by coronavirus. A month or so ago they talked about finding a distributor, but it's been so long since the crowdfunding started...

[KODa]

Oh my... My message in this thread didn't age well... Sorry for bringing this thread back from dead.

[fortunate reee]

6 minutes ago, KODa said:

Oh my... My message in this thread didn't age well... Sorry for bringing this thread back from dead.

tbf you hit the final mouse aspect straight on