Valve Engineer Develops Tongue-Controlled Mouse

[Michael Epstein]

Valve Engineer Develops Tongue-Controlled Mouse

The "Tongue Mouse" isn't precise enough for gaming yet, but somebody's working on it.

Valve mechanical engineer Ben Krasnow has done the unthinkable. I was going to try and be witty or funny about it, but honestly my mind is so completely blown by the concept that I don't think my blog-humor could properly convey how crazy this invention is.

Ben Krasnow has created a mouse you can control with your tongue.

The controller, a little nub stabilized by a "retainer kind of housing," allows users to move a cursor by sliding their tongue over an infrared sensor after mapping "X/Y coordinates in a Windows-style UI with tongue movements constrained to a plane." Though the version he shows off has a big set of cables popping out the front, Krasnow said worked on both wired and wireless tongue mice.

Despite the tongue's level of fine motor control, Krasnow says the mouse isn't precise enough to replace a good old-fashioned mouse, specifically mentioning that using the it for gaming would "be impossible." Krasnow suggests that, rather than replacing our traditional control setup, the tongue mouse could be used in computing scenarios when a mouse and keyboard may not be available, specifically pointing to augmented reality and applications that rely on large swiping gestures.

Whether or not the tongue mouse useful seems irrelevant at this point. They're just prototypes: If Krasnow - or some other engineer - kept at it, they could fine-tune the features and find some kind of practical application. (Some commenters suggested "remote kissing software..." ) The point is: We did it and that's pretty cool.

Source: Polygon [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyaiszgzIzo]

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[Vivi22]

This tongue-controlled mouse is precise enough for gaming yet, but somebody's working on it.

Krasnow said worked on both wired and wireless versions.

Not to nitpick, but we've got some typo's that could use some fixing.

Interesting concept though. I have a strong love for people who do things that are completely off the wall just for the sake of doing them.

 

[Teoes]

"Hey Al, check what I've been working on. It's a mouth-mouse! Give it a shot. I wiped it clean, honest. No, don't worry about all the electrical connections and the fact that it's wired to mains. Trust me. Al? Hey come back!"

I'll refrain from referencing anything bawdy in relation to skilled use of this thing, such as the response to Bond when he says he's brushing up on a little Danish.

This sounds just bizarre enough to be great. Fantastic potential application for people with physical disabilities, too.

 

[Michael Epstein]

This tongue-controlled mouse is precise enough for gaming yet, but somebody's working on it.

Krasnow said worked on both wired and wireless versions.

Not to nitpick, but we've got some typo's that could use some fixing.

Interesting concept though. I have a strong love for people who do things that are completely off the wall just for the sake of doing them.

Oops! Sorry about that. Thanks for the save!

 

[Vivi22]

Oops! Sorry about that. Thanks for the save!

Not a problem.

 

[DaWaffledude]

And the first thought anyone had about this was "it wouldn't be good for gaming" and not "this could be useful for people with tetraplegia"?

Well, he is an engineer at Valve, which is a games company. Though I do see your point.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I don't know anyone, save people without arms, who would use a Tongue Mouse... It just seems like a really dumb way to work with a PC...

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

If this becomes a thing, I can't wait till someone comes up with a dildo peripheral.

Let's face it, the odds of that happening are substantial.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Hmm. I'm sure there's no chance of anyone creating any perverted applications for this sort of technology. My faith in human decency is...well...

 

[Psychobabble]

Here we go again with yet another totally batshit Valve gaming improvement that nobody in their right mind would ever want.
.... well except maybe for a person who has lost the ability to use their arms. .. yeah so maybe this is a good idea ...Awkward. I'm gonna go rant in some other thread where I won't sound like so much of an asshole.

 

[Samurai Silhouette]

Basically hejust stuck a mouse sensor in his mouth and saw it move?
I did this a decade ago for free, I could have been a fking game dev!

 

[shadowxvii]

Now someone has to make a teeth-keyboard, and we're in business for a mouth-controlled computer.

 

[1337mokro]

This is pretty awesome for disabled people.

Remember that old videos about the quadruple amputees or paraplegics that game using their chin? A tongue mouse could be pretty awesome, though it'd suck if it short-circuited.

 

[Chaos Marine]

This could be a great innovation for people with physical disabilities.

 

[kenu12345]

This actually seems pretty cool. If it actually does comes out, I could just imagine myself using it to scroll around computer while leaning my head on my hands

 

[Vigormortis]

The tongue sensor wasn't the only prototype/tech-hack Mr. Krasnow was working on.

He was also experimenting with this -


All in all these two devices, perhaps coupled with eye or head tracking, could give those of us with severe physical disabilities an unparalleled level of control with computing device that they could never achieve through conventional means.

Serious kudos to Mr. Krasnow. Even if these devices are essentially just garage hacks at this point. I'm glad someone is willing to think unconventionally in their attempt to innovate in the industries of video gaming and general computing.

At this point Valve is every bit a think tank as they are a developer and publisher. And frankly, I'm glad. The video gaming industry has been suffering from a serious case of stagnation. I'm glad to see there are still a few left in the industry attempting to innovate, including the people over at Oculus.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Wow, 17 posts in and no one has made the obvious cunnilingus joke? I don't know if I'm impressed or ashamed, but it's a feat all the same.

 

[Double A]

Wow, 17 posts in and no one has made the obvious cunnilingus joke? I don't know if I'm impressed or ashamed, but it's a feat all the same.

Well you did, and I was. So there's that.

Funnily enough, this might actually get me to stop biting my nails and doing other terrible subconscious things when I'm browsing the Internet.