Ploopy Bean is a weird-looking open source trackpoint mouse

The Ploopy Bean is an open source highly-precise pointing stick or trackpoint with a really weird name.

Never judge a book by its cover. Or, a 3D-printed, mouse-like trackpoint device by what it looks like in pictures. Case in point, the Ploopy Bean. That’s one hell of a name. It’s essentially a trackpoint stand-in, sort of like a mouse, and those little red joysticks you see on professional laptops. This one includes four customizable buttons, and, again, rests on your desktop as a standalone peripheral. It’s not embedded into a laptop keyboard or another configuration. It also enables super precise cursor movement and pointing stick activities.

With a 1,000Hz polling rate and four Omron D2LS-21 switches, it’s responsive, snappy, and feels great to use. Ploopy says it delivers “the most precise scrolling solution available” right out of the box. No tinkering necessary. Bean works with Windows, Mac, and Linux, and has some decent innards. The microcontroller is a Raspberry Pi RP2040, with a Cortex M0 at 125Hz. Ignore my wise remarks, all things considered, the Ploopy Bean is pretty neat.

Isn’t the Ploopy Bean trackpoint mouse open source?

Here’s where things really get interesting. The entire device is 3D printed, yes, but also open source. That means it’s easy to repair and customize, and fully modifiable with community support like nothing else. You can print your own mods, add-ons, and everything else — Ploopy has a great community track record, too, with its other products.

All the design files for the Bean, as is promised by the open source idea, are available. Electrical, mechanical, and firmware designs are all publicly downloadable and free. Ploopy even says they offer “thorough documentation” so anyone can dig in and understand the inner workings of the Bean.

Oh, and if you’re wondering why Ploopy, like I was, here’s what the team says: “When we first started the company, we wanted to choose a name that represented the values of being different, fun, and accessible. At one point, Colin suggested the name “Floopy”. Phil misheard and, surprised, responded “Ploopy?” We laughed so hard that the name stuck.” I can’t fault them for that. I did choose the name Techigar.