A mouse uses rollers or an optical sensor to detect motion across a surface and translate that into signals a computer can interpret. A mechanical ball mouse uses two freely rotating rollers oriented 90 degrees from each other to detect forward/backward and left/right motion. Each roller is attached to an encoder wheel that interrupts light beams to generate electrical pulses representing movement. Modern optical mice use an LED sensor to detect surface movement and send that information to the computer. The main components of a mouse are those that translate hand motion into usable signals for the computer.