Wednesday, July 2. 2008

Use your tongue to operate a computer or wheelchair

Science Daily reports that researchers are perfecting a method that allows severely handicapped people to use a computer or move a wheelchair simply by moving their tongue left or right.

They're so happy with the results of their tests that they actually believe it is possible for handicapped people to teach the device many commands based on where in the mouth they position their tongue, perhaps even to the extent of using a different command for each tooth that is touched.

Now I don't know about you but I think this is completely revolutionary and should be given the highest priority to make it happen. The way it works is that the tongue isn't controlled via the Spinal column, it has it's own direct connections to the brain so is very rarely damaged when spinal injury results in severe handicapping.

A small magnet is attached to the tongue, either by tape, a piercing, or even using surgery, and a small array of magnet sensors on the boom of a headset detects the position of the magnet and sends this to a small computer that converts it into a command. Isn't that awesome?
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  1. fragileheart said,

    Wednesday, July 2. 2008 at 17:34 (Reply)

    I thought there was iron in magnets? Doesn't that mean it could be dangerous for someone to have it on their body for such long periods of time?

  2. Jeannine said,

    Wednesday, July 2. 2008 at 20:47 (Reply)

    wow that would be great for people to be able to be mobile or to use a computer how wonderful would that be...

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