Researchers look to the tongue to help the disabled
source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/25/business/computer.php
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- orangeseverywhere
- added this
The tireless tongue already controls taste and speech, helps kiss and swallow and fights germs. Now scientists hope to add one more ability to the mouthy muscle and turn it into a computer control pad.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a university in Atlanta, believe a magnetic, tongue-powered system could transform a disabled person's mouth into a virtual computer, teeth into a keyboard, and tongue into the key that manipulates it all.
The group's Tongue Drive System turns the tongue into a joystick of sorts, allowing the disabled to manipulate wheelchairs, manage home appliances and control computers. The work still has a ways to go - one potential user called the design "grotesque" - but early tests are encouraging.
Ghovanloo's work centers on creating a virtual keyboard instead of a physical one. He does that through a magnet about three millimeters, or about one-tenth of an inch, wide that is placed under the tip of the tongue.
The magnet's movement is tracked by sensors on the side of each cheek, which sends data to a receiver atop a rather bulky set of headgear. It is then processed by software that converts the movement into commands for a wheelchair or other electronics.
It is an impressive display, and Ghovanloo said he hoped he could one day add dozens more commands that turn teeth into keyboards and cheeks into computer consoles.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a university in Atlanta, believe a magnetic, tongue-powered system could transform a disabled person's mouth into a virtual computer, teeth into a keyboard, and tongue into the key that manipulates it all.
The group's Tongue Drive System turns the tongue into a joystick of sorts, allowing the disabled to manipulate wheelchairs, manage home appliances and control computers. The work still has a ways to go - one potential user called the design "grotesque" - but early tests are encouraging.
Ghovanloo's work centers on creating a virtual keyboard instead of a physical one. He does that through a magnet about three millimeters, or about one-tenth of an inch, wide that is placed under the tip of the tongue.
The magnet's movement is tracked by sensors on the side of each cheek, which sends data to a receiver atop a rather bulky set of headgear. It is then processed by software that converts the movement into commands for a wheelchair or other electronics.
It is an impressive display, and Ghovanloo said he hoped he could one day add dozens more commands that turn teeth into keyboards and cheeks into computer consoles.
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purplefox
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Wow, imagine controlling a wheelchair with your tongue - sounds like there's some incredible potential here... I just hope reflex saliva swallowing doesn't send users veering into oncoming traffic/pedestrians.
- 3 years ago
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purplefox
