MouthPad Tongue-Controlled Computer Mouse
MouthPad is a Bluetooth mouse that fits inside a person's mouth and uses the tongue for cursor movement on a computer, phone, or tablet. San Francisco-based firm Augmental Technologies designed the MouthPad for people living with paralysis, making it possible for them to interact with gadgets that rely on physical touch and limb movements. MouthPad relies on gestures like long-press and sucking inward with the tongue to replicate right and left clicks on a regular mouse. The company says it is "positioned across the roof of your mouth to put all of the power of a conventional touchpad in the tip of your tongue." The device doesn't hurt the speech or hinder speaking. The pressure-sensitive touchpad is positioned at the roof of the oral cavity. It's a fully-wireless device that supports most operating systems out of the box and each unit is custom-made using 3D-printing. MouthPad runs for about 5 hours on a single charge, but is currently only listed with a "waitlist" status. The official introduction video shows a paraplegic person playing video games using MouthPad, which is awe-inspiring and a much-needed accessibility victory. Combining this system with HD video-recording glasses with full internet access such as Kestral 2 could mark a new era in personal surveillance tech.