SmartNav units control PCs with just your noggin'
By Darren Murph 
posted March 10th 2009 10:07AM
posted March 10th 2009 10:07AM
[Via EverythingUSB]
Read - SmartNav 4:EG
Read - SmartNav 4:AT
posted March 10th 2009 10:07AM
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There is no way one can replace the traditional keyboard and mouse its been tried before but any idea has never taken off , but this product might have potential with the disabled!!
K-board and mouse can and will be put out of business by more natural input methods, that will enable interaction with machines in the same way as humans interact with each other.
The most obvious method is voice control.
My firm produces a so called "Uberdigiframe" , which in reality is a 10" all in one Linux PC (with wifi, BT, Webcam, Light sensor,Atom platform, 32GBSSD,Push e-mail, DTV-B, 2.1 stereo, etc, etc) , it features a 10" touch screen interface, and it can also be connected via bluetooth or IR to wireless Kboard&mouse, but none of my clients, NOT ONE, uses anything else but the BT headset (or microphone) to navigate the interface, the interweb, check, write and answer e-mails, hear internet radio, (or TV) watch DTV-B,or music and video from their NAS or PC, make VOIP calls or landline calls (via the included speakerphone platform), or perform any of the many other tasks that can be performed with our product.
The only limit (if it can be called a limit) is that all commands to the interface must be adressed via a push activated microphone to avoid background interferences (any decent BT hedset will do).
I (and my clients) use it to dictate documents several pages long, and have them read back before sending the text via e-mail, fax, video mail or voice mail, (the Uberframe offers all of these possibilities) and very seldom we find mistakes either in spelling or comprehension.
Unfortunately we are obliged to sell our product as a moddig from private to private because (nearly)all the software, specially the voice recognition and dictating programs, are proprietary and belong to six(!) different companies.
The technology however is there , and I know for sure that I'm not the only one taking advantage of it.
One of the latest clients we had last year was an institution for physically handicapped people and we still receive daily e-mails from them thanking us for how we improved their everyday life and interpersonal relations.
No, sorry, it will never happen, and I said never, that a substantial segment of the population will use speech as a 'meaningful' interface to the computer, perhaps some simple commands, but nobody but a few freaks will read whole documents into their computer, and to show you I mean it I add this: not even if apple decides to market it!
It would really suck to come into work on a sluggish Monday morning and be required to talk to your computer from the moment you arrive instead of casually browsing Engadget with my quiet mouse and keyboard strokes.
and if i sneeze?
It changes the language input to German, "Gesundheit!"
Glad its modestly priced those things I remember were friggin expensive.....
Actually, I think that this thing is still pretty expensive - using the face detection classes from a £30 facial recognition SDK, my laptop's built in webcam and a few hours of C# coding I wrote an application that lets you control a mouse by moving your head. It even works with first person shooter games. Disabled people get ripped off - all of these mobility things seem to be ridiculously costly.
Plus, with mine, you don't have to stick bits of 3M reflective tape on your head.
@dan, what SDK did you use?
VeriLook, from Neurotechnology:
http://www.neurotechnology.com/vl_sdk.html
Really simple to use, even includes webcam management classes. There's a 30 day demo available if you want to have a play around.
Gord? heh.
They have been selling the game version for around 100 something and now they rework the software a bit and charge 200-300 more?
Wow that's Twice as expensive as the TrackIR and does the same thing. It's probably less computable too.
@ Albert and James-Try using Trackir on your desktop, to act as a double click over icons, to work with switches, etc. I've used a SmartNav and the fact that it can do everything a Trackir can, plus easily control the desktop for people with disabilities makes it quite a bit different. The tech specs aren't even in the same ballpark. The SmartNav camera is quite a bit better. A far cry from the webcam nonsense people are talking about.
"It's not as if there has been any shortage of conceptual contraptions conjured up to control computers with just the brain, but it has been increasingly difficult to find units ready for the commercial market."
This isn't it either. This uses your head, not your brain.
If you look at this on youtube, it's just a webcam that tracks a reflective dot that is stuck on your forehead. There's already free programs out there that tracks all six axises of motion with a special clip that attaches to your hat.
$400 for a webcam? Not thanks.
This is way better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PIDRVh4B-0
Based upon these comments, this is a MAJOR rip off! I'm physically disabled myself & it's ashame this costs so much!
It'd be different if this super duper high tech.
Based on these comments? You do realize you're on Engadget, yes? :) You can maybe put a little more stock in these than YouTube comments.
http://shop.orin.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1
http://www.madentec.com/products/tracker-pro.php
50% less seems fair.
@Albert
I have a TrackIR (gaming version), and the hardware is different. Different boards, different tracking type (I think), different resolutions, different FOV. I've seen a SN in person, and they seem more robust. I'd actually prefer one of these if I could afford it.