The BrowsMouse is being developed at the University of Southern Queensland (NCEA) as part of a project entitled Mechatronic Aids for People with Disabilities. This project is being funded by the Queensland Motor Accident Insurance Commission via CONROD.
The BrowsMouse is a device aimed at helping people who have severely limited use, or no use of their arms or legs to operate a standard computer. It consists of a pair of glasses that are worn by the user and a "black box". The glasses sense eyebrow movement by means of infra red sensors. These readings are converted by the black box and then transmitted to the computer via an infrared serial link. A piece of software installed on the PC then translates theses signals into mouse movements. The BrowsMouse thus mimics a conventional computer mouse. For example, the user can move both eyebrows up for an upward mouse movement, only the left brow up a left movement or only the left down for a left click. The BrowsMouse therefore eliminates the need to use a hand or a foot to move the mouse pointer and click the mouse.
Depending on the ability of the user to move their eyebrows the new mouse can take a little while to get used to and to learn how to use. However, the software used with the mouse or a mirror enables the user to see what they are doing and hence learn to move their eyebrows more effectively.
The mouse is also completely portable, as it requires no physical connection to the computer. This freedom is of additional benefit to the user as they can take the mouse with them to control other devices such as a television or a VCR. Currently under development is a version of the Eyebrows Mouse that requires no cables to connect the "black box" as all the electronics will be integrated into the glasses. This makes the unit completely portable. The Eyebrows Mouse is at the stage where we require volunteers to test it and to provide us with feedback on how we can make improvements.
If you would like to take part in the trials of the BrowsMouse please e-mail
or phone me.
If you are taking part in the trials and you would like to fill out the feedback survey on-line then please click here
A photographic description of how to mount the BrowsMouse sensors
The on-line help manual for the BrowsMouse
Download a Triple jjj news item (interview) here
(437KB)
Newspaper articles on the BrowsMouse can be found in
The Australian July 13, 1999 page 33
The Canberra Times July 19, 1999 page 16
The Toowoomba Chronicle July 13, 1999
Download a flyer on the Eyebrows Mouse in zipped Word 97 .rtf format here
(257KB)
Download a paper on our Mechatronics Aids for People with Disabilities
in
postscript here (3.52MB), or
zipped .rtf format here (6.74MB)Note that the above paper is published in the Proceeding of the Third National Conference on Rehabilitation and Control and is thus protected by copyright
If you have comments, suggestions or
would like to trial the Eyebrows Mouse, email me at aigner@usq.edu.au
Back
to the NCEA Home Page
