Hands-Free Mouse
By Lucht, Jordan; McNeal, Amber; Doll, Cody; Tareski, Val; NSF 2007 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons With Disabilities, pp. 90-91Publication Date: 2010
Description of a computer mouse emulator for individuals who do not have the use of their arms. Designed at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Dakota State University for a client who had a bilateral arm amputation, the hands-free mouse (HFM) consists of a shoulder mounted package that communicates with a foot pedal base via a three wire bundle. The base controls the left, center, and right clicks. The arm package monitors all the movement functions normally associated with a mouse. The cursor movement is unlike that of a regular mouse in that the cursor moves at one of three set speeds selected by the amount of arm tilt, much like a joystick. The arm unit detects and transmits tilt data to the foot pedal unit, which in turn detects any clicks and communicates with the computer via USB 2.0. The three wires between the two units are five-volt power, data, and ground. The HFM can be used by anyone that has full use of one leg and at least a four inch appendage with a good range of motion. The arm unit can be programmed to work with an arm or leg from either the left or right side of the body.
Published by: Creative Learning Press, Inc. (Website:http://www.creativelearningpress.com)
Link to text: http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/2007/Chapter8,%20North%20Dakota%20State%20University.pdf
ISBN: 1-931280-12-6
