René Sommer was a Swiss inventor and computer programmer.

Along with Professor Jean-Daniel Nicoud

Jean-Daniel Nicoud

Jean-Daniel Nicoud , is a Swiss computer scientist, noted for inventing of a computer mouse with an optical encoder and the CALM Common Assembly Language for microprocessors....

 and André Guignard

André Guignard

André Guignard is a Swiss engineer initially educated as a watchmaker. He is the creator of the mechanic of the Khepera, the S-bot and several other mobile robots....

, Sommer helped invent the computer mouse at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne is one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.The school was founded by the Swiss Federal Government with the stated mission to:...

 in Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

. Sommer was credited for making the mouse "more intelligent" by adding a micro-processor to the mouse's design in 1985.

Sommer died on October 5, 2009 in Saint-Légier

Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz

Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-Geography:Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz has an area, , of . Of this area, or 34.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 45.4% is forested...

, Vaud

Vaud

Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, at the age of 58.

Logitech

Logitech

Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...

, which manufactured the original mouse, called Sommer a ‘brilliant and impassioned engineer’ in reaction to his death.