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Powered by carbon sequestering unicorn farts too!
You might find some fun in this headline you kind of predicted:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-04-24/a-high-sc...
MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
171–180 of 183 posts
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#172I want to repeat this in USB2 version and use it for reading books. What kind of moving sensor might be a good choice? I want something like a stylophone with tongue-controlled five buttons (traditional joystick approach) plus tooth-controlled ctrl as a regular button. Buttons might be sensed like licking AG4 battery (the least 1.5V battery I ever seen) - but I do not understand an electronic design which is going to…
We have actually created a few USB/wired versions of our device, specifically with gaming latency concerns in mind! We made a version for our friend and Augmental champion, Rocky NoHands (https://twitter.com/RockyNoHands), to complement his QuadStick gaming setup. In our test sessions together, there were no battery power issues as the wired prototype uses the USB for both communication and power. With that prototype, we had the added benefit of being able to debug simultaneously over Bluetooth without interfering with any USB data transmission. You can watch Rocky play Apex using this wired version as a Left Analog Input (movement commands) in a few clips in our promotional video. Hopefully one day in the future we will be able to offer a wired version of the MouthPad^ to our customers!
Also, as we optimize our firmware to support improved power-saving techniques, we hope to see our current battery lifetimes increase from ~5.5 hours.
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
The trailer video exclusively features people with quadriplegia.
Which is somewhat unfortunate. Having the device go mainstream is one way to reduce the cost per unit, or even subsidize the cost for people who really need it. Many accessibility technologies end up being an improvement for everyone. I would certainly be interested in the device purely from a keeping-both-hands-on-the-keyboard perspective.
This is a fair point.
Although our promotional video features people with quadriplegia, the MouthPad^ is designed for everyone and anyone interested in using their tongue and mouth to control their personal devices. We believe strongly in universal design, and how designing for extremes can create an improved experience for all users, and this has led us to work closely with the disability community. A classic example of the benefits of universal design can be seen in curb cuts, which were initially built into our sidewalks to help accommodate the needs of people living with mobility issues, but ended up providing value to many other groups, such as mothers with strollers, workers with carts, travelers with luggage, runners, skateboarders, etc.
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#174I'd like to see more comments from the target audience, at the moment the comment section is full of abled people who speculate on the needs and experiences of the target audience.
I have had periods of time where I couldn't use my hands to use the computer due to bad rsi. I used an eye tracker for controlling the mouse and a voice recognition tool (talon) for typing. However, I couldn't use these for very long because I got a sore throat from speaking in a way the computer understands, and focusing places with my eyes all the time gave me headaches. While a mouthpad seems slighly superior to a…
+1 on the complementary potential of the MouthPad^.
As you mention, the MouthPad^ would serve as an awesome tool in tandem with gaze-based cursor control. I’d like to point out that there are also other interface combinations that could work well, too. For example, we have tested using our device in tandem with voice-assistant systems and found preliminary success as our device does not prevent speech. In the end, everyone has different needs and preferences, and each interface has their quirks, so we aim to create a better option by leveraging the power of the tongue (comprised of 8 different muscles, and intrinsically dexterous).
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#175From 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 wi…
It's impossible to discuss this thing with a straight face
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#176I want to repeat this in USB2 version and use it for reading books. What kind of moving sensor might be a good choice? I want something like a stylophone with tongue-controlled five buttons (traditional joystick approach) plus tooth-controlled ctrl as a regular button. Buttons might be sensed like licking AG4 battery (the least 1.5V battery I ever seen) - but I do not understand an electronic design which is going to…
We have actually created a few USB/wired versions of our device, specifically with gaming latency concerns in mind! We made a version for our friend and Augmental champion, Rocky NoHands ( https://twitter.com/RockyNoHands ), to complement his QuadStick gaming setup. In our test sessions together, there were no battery power issues as the wired prototype uses the USB for both communication and power. With that prototy…
> Also, as we optimize our firmware to support improved power-saving techniques, we hope to see our current battery lifetimes increase from ~5.5 hours.
Do you have a plans to use thermal energy or something based on movement? I would like to blow a whistle or to do something with sculls to rotate some generator.
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#177Wow. That is quite innovative.
The advertised version is the equivalent of trackpad.
I am wondering if the back of the teeth, upper jaw and lower jaw forming two rows, could somehow be mapped to keys to enable typing and the equivalent of swiftkey.
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#178My father was disabled (MS) and at the clinic he was (for demented or otherwise thought impaired people at the end of their life), there was this elderly guy who had a wheel chair and controlled it with a poke (red!) which he controlled with his chin. It was fabulous to see. And a reminder of how addictive smoking/drugs is, cause he'd often go down to the smoking area with his wheelchair, pack of Caballero sitting on the small desk his wheelchair had. I'm not sure how he fired these up though.
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Define 'mainstream' ? The market for this thing is pretty limited. And tongue controlled controllers aren't a novelty, they are used sometimes, but again - they are mostly one-time devices.
I’ve never heard of tongue control devices before today. What are you referring to?
Just search for 'tongue controlled/activated'. Eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQitEbzulvY
Re: MouthPad – In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue Sensitive Trackpad
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
We have actually created a few USB/wired versions of our device, specifically with gaming latency concerns in mind! We made a version for our friend and Augmental champion, Rocky NoHands ( https://twitter.com/RockyNoHands ), to complement his QuadStick gaming setup. In our test sessions together, there were no battery power issues as the wired prototype uses the USB for both communication and power. With that prototy…
> Also, as we optimize our firmware to support improved power-saving techniques, we hope to see our current battery lifetimes increase from ~5.5 hours. Do you have a plans to use thermal energy or something based on movement? I would like to blow a whistle or to do something with sculls to rotate some generator.
I cant say that Im not interested in clever ways to draw power from the mouth, of which there are many cool options, but the reality is such that we wont really be able to address many of these features until we receive funding to support our growth so that we can dedicate an R&D team to tackle some of these tasks. Until then, our team count remains in the single digits.