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In-Mouth Bluetooth Mouse Uses Tongue-Sensitive Trackpad

The MouthPad gives quadriplegics a convenient way to control devices

By Rain Noe - April 20

in UX | Tech

Augmental Technologies, an MIT Media Lab spin-off based in San Francisco, has developed a Bluetooth mouse designed to be worn inside your mouth.

The mouthpiece is fitted over the user's upper teeth in the manner of a mouthguard, and a tongue-sensitive trackpad rests against the roof of the mouth. Users can control cursors using tongue movements across the trackpad. A tongue press will register as a left click, while right clicks are achieved with a sipping gesture.

"Our goal is to provide everyone with more intuitive ways to interact with computing systems," the company writes. The MouthPad, which is currently in beta testing, will allow quadriplegics and other users without the use of their hands to control computers, smartphones, tablets and other Bluetooth-enabled devices.

Conveniently, users can speak normally while using a MouthPad:

"Its slim design minimizes the impact on speech, making it a convenient solution for users who need to communicate verbally while wearing the device. This means that you can use voice recognition software while wearing your MouthPad."

Here's a project description and demonstration from the company:

Enter a caption (optional)

Interested users can sign up for the waitlist here.

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Jill Karol

7 months ago

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I'm amazed how all the things I read in William Gibson novels is starting to come to life...

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Ivan Kontselidze

7 months ago

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The next step is to just read tongue nerve impulses and train a model to interpret speech.

As described here: https://medium.com/@irakliy/idea-talk-and-make-phone-calls-without-making-mouth-sounds-a-device-c7109fa1940

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