Mouse May be Replaced by "Nouse"

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Mouse May be Replaced by "Nouse"

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday September 16, 2004 @08:33AM from the things-you-can't-make-up dept.

mteichrob writes "A Canadian inventor has designed a computer mouse steered by movements of the nose and eyelids. The invention, dubbed a "Nouse," is meant to help people with a disability use a computer. I think this could also be quite useful for the average office lackey like me! As good as my ergonomic mouse/keyboard combo is, less body movement is still a better replacement."

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Questions by nuclear305 · 2004-09-16 08:34 · Score: 5, Funny

A mouse that can be moved by the nose and eyelids? I think the most obvious question is, "What happens when you sneeze?" I'd hate to accidentally send a reboot command during a sneeze.

I'd also be curious to see how it would affect twitch gaming where quick reflexes with a mouse are paramount.
1. Re:Questions by vettemph · 2004-09-16 08:40 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  If your running that brand of operating system that I haven't used in three years, it probably needed a reboot anyway. (...or was about to crash)
  
  --
  The government which is strong enough to protect you from everything is strong enough to take everything from you.
2. Re:Questions by MarkGriz · 2004-09-16 08:40 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  "What happens when you sneeze?" I'd hate to accidentally send a reboot command during a sneeze.
  
  There are only drivers available for Windows, so this shouldn't cause any undue inconvenience.
  
  --
  Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
3. Re:Questions by sbowles · 2004-09-16 08:43 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I think the most obvious question is, "What happens when you sneeze?"
  Or when you pick ...er... scratch your nose.
  
  --
  You sly dog: you got me monologuing! - Syndrome
4. Re:Questions by LnxAddct · 2004-09-16 10:21 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  This is nothing new. Alternatives to the physical hardware with which we interact with our computers has been researched for years. I haven't rtfa, but I'm going to assume that the nose is tracked and associated with the mouse, and two blinks == one click, and three blinks == double click. I did this over two years ago, and I know alot of others who have too, just go to any university. Anyway, tracking the nose is good, but I found tracking your irises(is that even a word) easier and significantly more accurate. I found it easier because you are already focusing on that area for blinks, you already know where the eyes are so there is no need to go searching for other features. Also, the eyes stick out significantly more than a nose, and depending on the lighting, a nose can be very hard to detect because it is skin and blends with your face. I found using the eyes for mouse movement more accurate because you have redundancy, instead of hoping that you found the nose (which you only have one of) and then hoping that you tracked it right, using the eyes you can double check all your answers to a certain precision (doesn't work with a "dead" eye). Also, the iris is clearly defined and surrounded by white in all people. Using the nose, or mouth, for tracking was awkward because as you move your nose up or down you have to move your eyes opposite of that direction to stay focused on the mouse. When you use your eyes, they naturally are pointing where ever the mouse is, and thats most likely your intended area of focus. One final note, as this is getting long, some people may be wondering why 2 blinks = 1 click, etc... Well at first I did have 1 blink == 1 click and 2 blinks == 2 clicks. Debugging this was hell! It drove me literally insane. My mouse kept clicking when it wasn't supposed to and I had no idea why. Then after quite a while of damn near mathematically proving my code to be correct, I realized it was me inadvertenly blinking! Now your thinking, "Duh!", but when its late at night and your on a roll coding and testing, you dont really pay attention to when you blink, I mean we blink all day long and never realize it. So inorder to effectivly click with the eyes, you need to add an extra blink. Just my 2 cents. Oh yea, I also am unfortunately no longer working on that project(I was going to release it on sf.net or something) but around the same time I migrated entirely to linux and my damn Creative Camera didn't have drivers. I'm still waiting to get a logitech cam, any recommendations?
  Regards,
  Steve
  p.s. I forgot to mention that tracking the nose is useful for one application that me and friends found, if you make a triangle with your nose and eyes then you can get a pretty good idea of the orientation of someone's head in relation to 3 dimensional space. Using the eyes isn't very useful for more then 2 dimensions.
Less Movement by andyrut · 2004-09-16 08:35 · Score: 5, Funny

Hooray for less body movement! Let's give this technology a test drive:

Me: Twitches nose left
Computer: Moves cursor left
Me: Neat! Blinks
Computer: Opens folder
Me: Excellent! Hey, who put all this black pepper in my sandwich? Aaaaachoooo!
Computer: Reformats hard drive

Oh, and the Nouse has already been covered on Slashdot. Come on, a simple Slashdot search of "nouse" turns this one up.
1. Re:Less Movement by MyDixieWrecked · 2004-09-16 08:54 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  yeah, but I can't get the damn cursor to stop shaking while I look at pr0n.
  
  --
  
  ...spike
  Ewwwwww, coconut...
pr0n in my cache... by JustDisGuy · 2004-09-16 08:35 · Score: 5, Funny

no - really, I just sneezed!

--
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - Hanlon's Razor
No handed navigation? by phyruxus · 2004-09-16 08:35 · Score: 5, Funny

MMMmmmmmmm....... :)
What? I like to eat soup while I surf the web.. ya' perv.
;)

--
"A witty saying proves nothing." ~Voltaire
"d'Oh!" ~Homer
Counterstrike... by mtrisk · 2004-09-16 08:35 · Score: 5, Funny

I can just see it now!
*Wiggle*
*Sniff*
HEADSHOT!

--

Without a proper flamewar, Anonymous was undecided on what shell to run.
Eying your way around the desktop by ackthpt · 2004-09-16 08:36 · Score: 5, Informative

I thought they already had something like this that followed your eye movements.
"The technology that watches you watching IT"
Department of Homeland Security Approved

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
even more sedentary? by tverbeek · 2004-09-16 08:36 · Score: 5, Insightful

less body movement is still a better replacement.
Perhaps if your goal is to become as fit as Stephen Hawking, but through lack of exercise rather than disease.

--
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Nouse for Nose As Mouse? by Marxist+Hacker+42 · 2004-09-16 08:36 · Score: 4, Informative

If it's the same one (I couldn't access the CBC report linked to so I googled it) then it's much more than just using your nose and eyelids for a mouse- it's full face tracking software at a subpixel resolution.

Which is a really cool idea- it means that a webcam can replace the mouse.

--
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Hmm by HarveyBirdman · 2004-09-16 08:37 · Score: 3, Informative

Anyone remeber the Atari Mindlink?
http://www.atarimuseum.com/videogames/consoles/260 0/mindlink.html

--
--- Ban humanity.
Would it really be less tiring? by Krondor · 2004-09-16 08:37 · Score: 3, Insightful

As good as my ergonomic mouse/keyboard combo is, less body movement is still a better replacement.

I don't know about you, but this seems like it would get very tiring. I mean I can't flare my nostrils all day, the muscles in my nose start to get sore. What about people that have twitches, tics, or whatever you like to call it. Not to mention the sneezes (I know somebody already mentioned it in an earlier thread).

The geek in me does really want to try this though, unless you have a disablility though it's definitely a novelty.
Nouse Shmouse... by GillBates0 · 2004-09-16 08:41 · Score: 5, Funny

I'll be impressed when they train a real mouse to type, point, click etc in response to voice commands.
That'll also make it more fun when Windows crashes, because I'll have something more cuddly/furry to bang on instead of the keyboard.

--
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Better idea... by wicka_wicka · 2004-09-16 08:41 · Score: 3, Funny

What about a pouse? Kill two birds with one stone.

--
hi
for the unix guys.... by mrpuffypants · 2004-09-16 08:43 · Score: 4, Funny

or, perhaps it'll be replaced by keyboard
All jokes aside by Walter+Wart · 2004-09-16 08:45 · Score: 4, Insightful

We all understand that this will never replace the mouse and keyboard. Hands are just, well, more dextrous.

But for some disabled it will be a godsend. High spinal cord injuries and other conditions can make it difficult to use or control the hands to the degree required by mouse and keyboard. The ability to use the face will make life a lot easier for these people.

--
The man who never alters his opinion is like the stagnant water and breeds Reptiles of the Mind -- William Blake
1. Re:All jokes aside by toxcspdrmn · 2004-09-16 09:12 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Hands are just, well, more dextrous.
  
  ... yet on the other hand, more sinister.
  
  --
  "E pur si muove!" - attributed to Galileo Galilei, 1564-1642
Dmitry "Nouse" Gorodnichy's Homepage by Digital_Quartz · 2004-09-16 08:49 · Score: 5, Informative

You can find Dmitry (the inventor's) webpage here. Lots of interesting stuff, including some interesting facial recognition and tracking work.
Nousea? by Schreckgestalt · 2004-09-16 08:53 · Score: 3, Funny

When working with a Nouse, consider taking a break of 15 minutes every hour or you might experience Nousea that will prevent further work for the next 24 hours.
Mousersize by eander315 · 2004-09-16 08:56 · Score: 3, Funny

I don't know if i really like this NOUSE thing. Moving my mouse around is the only excersize I get. I've moused 1,736,945,879 miles so far this year, and lost 3 pounds! I'm down to 268!!!
On the other hand, the creamy filling from twinkies wouldn't clog up my optical mouse every day...
Download it and give it a try by Da+VinMan · 2004-09-16 08:58 · Score: 4, Informative

Here

I don't have a web-cam handy, so if someone could give this a spin a let us know how well it works, that would be very much appreciated.

If it works well enough, I would definitely use something like this to replace my mouse for everyday tasks. It wouldn't replace the keyboard, but it's always been the mouse that's caused most of my RSI-like symptoms.

--
Please mod this post only if you think others should/n't read this. I have enough ego^H^H^Hkarma. Thanks!
1. Re:Download it and give it a try by finker · 2004-09-16 13:38 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Alright, I gave it a whirl using my digital camera which doubles as a webcam. Nearly everytime I blinked it managed to recognize that, even without calibrating it. After I had calibrated it, it seemed to pickup my blinks a good nine out of ten times. One of the more annoying things is that you have to position the camera so it can see both of your eyes otherwise you get some very screwy results (kind of difficult when you have a huge hutch hanging over your monitor). Also, if your camera doesn't pickup light very well, forget it. I had to gather up two lamps just to get the lighting to a decent level.
  
  I couldn't test out the mouse/joystick abilities since everytime I attempt to do so it says, "This feature is not activated. Please register to enable it..." I'm actually pretty interested to see how well the mouse part of it works. Sadly, the Nouse painting program crapped itself everytime I tried to run it, so I guess I'm kind of SOL.
What happens if your disability... by Ionizer7 · 2004-09-16 09:04 · Score: 3, Funny

is the fact that you don't have a nose?
Eyelids? how bout eyes... by milton_wadams · 2004-09-16 09:04 · Score: 3, Informative

Prof. Tom Hutchinson at the University of Virginia has been researching this subject for decades. His system lets you control the cursor with the movement of your eyes and can track & record your eyes as you look across the screen. It's been in use for years for a great deal of UI research in addition to it's potential for handicapped users.