A trackball simply is apointing device with a ball in a sort of socket which is containing sensorsthat will detect the rotation of the actual ball. An optical trackball on theother hand is a bit different.

Optical trackballs usuallyuse very tough state Optical Navigation Technology in place of the traditionalmechanical assembly of conventional trackballs. The only moving part in theentire assembly is actually the ball, whose movement is sensed directly withoutthe need for shafts, separate encoders.

Industrial Optical trackballare more and more used along with industrial LCD displays and IndustrialComputers. As they are being used in a tough environment, they too need to betough and able to resist to everything from a continuous outdoor use, to hightemperatures and dust. This is the reason why industrial optical trackball areusually waterproof and very often nearly maintenance free.

Industrial optical trackballcan be used in public environments as well. Being waterproof and even vandalproof, they can withstand intensive use outdoor. You can find those trackballsin information kiosks for example.

They go perfectly well withindustrial keyboards when a mouse can not be used. You can even get keyboardswith an incorporated trackball in it. Those keyboards will obviously have to beas tough as the trackballs. But with so many different kinds of industrialkeyboards available for industrial use, you will have plenty to choose from.Some people may find better to use a handheld keyboard that would enable allmajor functions of a large keyboard in a small device, whereas other will needa more classic keyboard. They are usually waterproof, and a protected andreinforced to be able to cope with dust, and any other harsh environment.

You can even find ruggedstainless steel keywords now. They are very suitable for a number of harsh andpublic access environments like information kiosks and public access devices.Being protected by stainless steel, they offer a better protection againstwater and any other element involved in an everyday use in an outdoorenvironment.

In the end, you have to bevery careful when choosing a device when it is to use it in an industrialenvironment or for public use. Industrial display monitors like industrial LCDdisplays, industrial keyboards and optical trackballs are among the main partsyou will need to be very tough to resist to a harsh environment.