MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad

I've been wanting a wearable computer with a display integrated into glasses for years. A few years ago I got to try one that was on par with a Fitbit Versa, which would be perfect for me. (I never got one, and now it's not being made.)

Something like this would be perfect for a wearable computer. I personally want to try one, but I suspect the cost, and custom molding, are too high to "just try it out." I had a 3D scan of my mouth a few months ago for a bite guard, and it cost more than $700.

One thing that I want to point out is that the battery module next to the molars looks very uncomfortable.

From the way the cursor moved on the screen and the visualization of input with those orange squares, it looks like it operates similar to the thinkpad trackpoint. (There’s a dose of serendipitous humor here - the trackpoint has an infamous anatomical nickname, and this device seems to be reminding some commenters of a related activity.)

I wonder if they’ve explored trackballs? Conventional trackballs are operated with a single finger, usually the thumb, and proponents of trackballs claim it’s the equal of (or even superior to) a mouse, while touchpads and trackpoints do seem slightly limited compared to full-fledged mice. Controlling a trackball with your tongue instead of your thumb seems like it might be just as effective - maybe even more effective! This might be an avenue to make this device even more capable.

(Did I just compare the cunnilingus touchpad to the clit mouse, and then suggest adding “licking balls”? Goddamnit, lol)

Product 1 - failed (why?) Product 2 - identical use case Product 3 - identical use case

I want to be clear - it's awesome they are putting in the effort to work in accessibility. But why will Product #4 prove profitable when it is a rehash of an approach that has been tried for years without gaining much steam above and beyond what is already there.

What is the evidence that their tweak in technology will be a major market breakthrough? Is it that much easier to use? Is it that much more comfortable? If the answer is inconclusive, then best to leave this application and find an overlooked problem paraplegics face that really could benefit from a technology solution

Tongue contact might be sufficient (in linguistics, two of the axes of "pronunciation space" are "dental" (whether the tongue makes contact with the teeth) and "palatal" (whether the tongue makes contact with the palate).

There are a number of other dimensions however that are equally important in the creation of word-sounds (e.g., whether the lips are pursed, whether the vocal folds are vibrating, whether the teeth make contact with the lips, where the tongue is located in the space of the mouth [for vowels], etc) and would make determination just from the dental/palatal axes pretty difficult I think. But maybe with enough context, you could get something predictive that is more than good enough, even if it's not into deterministic territory

Can someone with late stage ALS still control their tongue? I understand other muscle groups in their are non-functioning by then. However, is the tongue still controllable. If so, this is a clear game changer.