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Technology

New Device Allows Users To Scroll With Their Tongue (nbcnews.com) 50

Posted by BeauHD from the mouse-for-your-mouth dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: Touchscreens are going hands-free with a new device that allows users to scroll through smartphones using only their tongues. MouthPad^, a retainer-like trackpad chip that sits on the roof of the mouth, made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. It can sense tongue movements, allowing users to scroll, type, make calls and even play chess with a swipe or a click of their tongue. "It is a mouse for your mouth," Corbin Halliwill, a software engineer at Augmental, the company that created the device, said.

Augmental created MouthPad^ to be a helpful tool to those living with disabilities, especially those with a hand impairment or paralysis. It connects to any tablet, phone or computer through Bluetooth. [...] The Augmental team has been developing its working prototype for about two years, mostly fine-tuning controls and applying filters so the device can work even if it picks up saliva or water. The product is expected to hit the market later this year, and early access is available on their website now. [...] The MouthPad^ is clear around the teeth, and the center is a golden touchpad that is the contact point for the tongue. Inside there is also a force sensor that picks up left and right clicks or could be mapped to other hotkey options. On the side, a small bump that holds the Bluetooth antenna and wireless charging battery sticks out and lays against the cheek.

Augmental doesn't recommend leaving it in for meals, but it is safe to drink with it in -- Halliwill said he wears it in the office while drinking water and his morning coffee. The company hopes to build the technology out in the near future, bringing new possibilities for users in the coming months. Some additions may include voice and wheelchair control. The battery now lasts about five hours, but Augmental hopes to extend it to eight in their next version.You can watch the trailer for MouthPad^ here.
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New Device Allows Users To Scroll With Their Tongue More

New Device Allows Users To Scroll With Their Tongue

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  • A bit early for April Fool's Day? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    And with facial recognition, I would expect that there would be better solutions.

  • Prediction (Score:5, Funny)

    by dskoll ( 99328 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2024 @10:55PM (#64148649) Homepage

    Women will buy this for their boyfriends and encourage them to get more adept.

    • Won't translate into anatomy knowledge or skill. The best practice is actual practice with specific feedback. And the most knowledgeable women are those who aren't exclusively straight.

    • Re:Prediction (Score:5, Informative)

      by RitchCraft ( 6454710 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2024 @11:32PM (#64148699)

      Did you watch the video? One of the women said she plans to connect it to her vibrator.

    • I would guess the real killer app for this will probably be for some sort of VR porn. Might help Apple sell a few more of those ski goggle things.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ls671 ( 1122017 )

      Women will buy this for their boyfriends and encourage them to get more adept.

      Maybe, but in the mean it's my girlfriend who makes me scroll like crazy with her tongue when she puts my MouthPad in.

    • Wives & girlfriends around the world rejoice!

      P.S. As I understand it, most guys' issue is with stamina, i.e. keeping the same tongue motion going long enough. Spending an hour a day with this thing could help build that stamina.

  • ALS + more (Score:5, Interesting)

    by markdavis ( 642305 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2024 @10:57PM (#64148657)

    This could be very useful for those with ALS (I have exposure to people with that). Many forms of ALS typically move up the body, where the person loses control first at the lowest parts of the body and then it works its way up over time. Eventually the person loses hand/arm control (can't remember if that is before or after breathing, and then has to be put on a ventilator). Once it gets to the neck, there is not much left to use for controlling computers. Eye gaze controllers are often used, but they can be a difficult to position correctly and calibrate/etc, and seem slow to use. But if tongue control is still available, that seems like it would be much better. Or at least another option.

    • My dad had ALS. I don't think what you describe would work.

      He used a chin switch, FWIW. Basically was just an up-down toggle.

    • Good insight, but ALS is relatively rare. In contrast, quadriplegia from neck trauma is common, and a device like this could be a huge benefit to quite a large group of people. There are other neuro diseases that would also qualify. Then, there are those who have had upper extremity amputations or neuro deficits after various diseases and trauma. Your basic concept is right on the money.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by aitikin ( 909209 )

        Good insight, but ALS is relatively rare. In contrast, quadriplegia from neck trauma is common...

        Check yourself there. ALS effects, "1 in 250 for men and 1 in 400 for women," (source [als.net]) meanwhile quadriplegic patients account for, "likely to be some 50 per 100 000 population with about 20 per 100 000 completely paralyzed." (source [nih.gov])

        I'd say 1 in 400 is significantly more common than 1 in 5,000, but maybe I can't math.

        • Good insight, but ALS is relatively rare. In contrast, quadriplegia from neck trauma is common...

          Check yourself there. ALS effects, "1 in 250 for men and 1 in 400 for women," (source [als.net])

          There is no way that number is correct. If it were that common, we all would know multiple people with ALS. Instead, it's general a public-awareness theoretical thing most of us only think about with regard to charities and donation/publicity drives.

          Ah, I see. Following your link to the original source I see you picked the number out of context. What your source - an ALS biotech fundraising firm - actually says is, their statistical model suggests that if people live into their mid-80s, 1 in 250 men and 1 i

  • "Hey, mind if I borrow your MouthPad for a while?"

    • You can buy it - ten times market price.

      And you're responsible for cleaning it, as well as for erasing "RocDoc" from the non-operating face.

      What's that Lassie? It's possible to have a charged one in your pocket, and a second charged one in your briefcase, alongside the charger and your second powerbank.

      No - such forethought and planning is impossible for humans!. Only for dumb canines.

  • Well thank goodness (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Tongue tip tablet navigation never works when I try it on camgirl sites.
  • Terminator X talks with his hands!

  • New Device Allows Users To Scroll With Their Tongue

    The pinch in and zoom out gestures are delayed as test users experienced problems, with a few requiring medical attention.

  • Who here just tried to scroll their phone using their tongue? Gross. Do you know how many germs and assorted toxic nastiness there is?

  • ... a mouse for your mouth ...

    Borrowing someone's phone just got icky, although giving anyone (including Google Sync) access to one's own chat history, browsing history and photo gallery, is a bad idea.

  • Left-tongue-click "Bartender, I'd like another drink please."

    Right-tongue-click "Please send the server over with a food menu."

    Double-click "Check, please."

    And double-double-click "I've fallen and I can't get up."

    Extra points for upper palate click like The Clapper(tm) to turn lights off and on.

    Thinks of the possibilities. If it senses you're driving double-click could mean
    "flash my brake lights and light up the BACK OFF sign."

    • Thinks of the possibilities. If it senses you're driving double-click could mean ...

      engage hazard lights, pull vehicle to the side of the road and disable motion until re-enabled by traffic police with your ticket number.

      Distracted-driving is dangerous. Any device which doesn't actively discourage it is complicit, and the manufacturers liable in part for any incidents. That last phrase will get the lawyers to fix the software problem.

  • Just what every cunning linguist needs (Score:4, Funny)

    by SubmergedInTech ( 7710960 ) on Thursday January 11, 2024 @12:36AM (#64148765)

    A hands-free way to scroll back and forth (and back and forth)...

  • My phone already supports this feature without any additional products.

  • What are you talking about?

    How do you people scroll your phones?!?

  • This post is not an admission of guilt.
  • I've seen musicians use iPads for their sheet music but they have to take a hand off their cello or whatever to move to the next page. This might find uses outside general assistive technology. However, I see some musicians that use their face to apparently play their guitar so goodness knows what their tongues are doing at the time so for some people it might not work.
    • The sheet music apps mostly work with page turner footswitches like this one:

      https://www.ikmultimedia.com/p... [ikmultimedia.com]

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by q_e_t ( 5104099 )
        Yes, I've seen the footswitch ones which are going to be more practical for most. Maybe not drummers so much, although one closing of the high hat being missed is probably acceptable.
    • This problem was solved back in the mid-19th century with clockwork "page-turner" devices which were operated by a plate sensitive enough that a breath would trigger it.

      That was intended for pianists - the model I saw. But a foot-switch version would also work - similar to the photographer's "B" setting for "bulb" shutter release.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by q_e_t ( 5104099 )
        Hmmm, won't work for some goth bands if it needs breath.
        • Goths don't (or can't) breathe? I dunno - my step-daughter was insistent on being an emo not a Goth, but she also breathed. Which doesn't help either way.
  • New? I worked with the owner of a company who made tongue-operated controls in 2008-2010 or so. I visited one of his customers and saw how the young man could operate his powered wheelchair and TV remote (IIRC--the latter is my fainter recollection) despite being completely quadriplegic. It was an incredible lifeline for him.

    I was involved because there were some difficulties with then-recent production examples of their product (random triggering, failure to trigger, etc.) and they wanted someone with f
    • This is new in the sense that the product has moved from research to a marketable product. That's very good news to people like me, who may one day need the device.

  • I find this whole thing hard to swallow.

  • My new product is a robot with a tongue. My market will be users of the Mouth Pad, and spinsters who don't already own a German Shepherd.
  • Or at least I can on my phone assuming my tongue isn't wet.
    But dry it off, and it works.

  • That will be perfect for those who don't want to touch point of sale terminals with their bare hands.

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