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My name is Sean Loughran from Enable Ireland’s Assistive Technology Training service.
In this video presentation I am going to show
some alternatives to using the standard computer mouse for mouse control on a PC
From ergonomically designed mice to an eye gaze system.
This is the typical computer mouse.
We control the position of the mouse cursor by physically moving the mouse around.
It has two buttons and a scroll wheel to interact with application menus.
There is a fine level of hand control required to use it and for some individuals it may be difficult to use.
Also some individuals may experience pain in the wrist and arm when using it for a period of time.
There are lots of alternative options
to the standard mouse
that can be used to control the mouse pointer on a computer screen.
Starting off with Ergonomic mice,
there are lots of new shapes that are designed to reduce stress on the wrist and the lower arm muscles.
The first one here is called the Quill Mouse.
It has a moulded shape that provides a rest for the hand and keeps it up in more of a vertical position.
The mouse buttons are in a similar position to that of the standard mouse.
There is a left and right hand version
of this mouse available.
This one is called the Anir Vertical mouse.
It is designed to be held similar to a joystick so again keeping the hand in a more upright position.
However the handle is fixed here and it is moved around in the standard way.
Left and right mouse buttons are controlled by the thumb and another button is at the side.
There are also a range of other mice that are designed to fit the hand more comfortably.
Note that some are designed for
the right handed user only.
These mice are from the Contour range of mice.
They come in a range of sizes to fit different size of hand.
It comes in both left and right handed versions.
Its shape is designed to minimise the grip
in holding the mouse.
This mouse here is from Humanscale.
It has an adjustable palm support
to fit different size hands.
And this mouse here is very small, design more for children from Tiny Mouse.
Other types of mouse pointers are rollerballs
These are also known as trackballs.
Movement of the cursor is made by moving the ball.
These come in a wide range of shapes.
Some are designed to be used by either the left or right handed user
Trackballs are also built into some
keyboards as in this one here.
This is the Contour Roller Mouse
It has a built in mouse as part of the keyboard rest.
The bar rotates as well as move from left to right to provide mouse movement.
The buttons here provide mouse button actions such as left and right click.
Moving on to some of the more specialised mice.
Traxsys supply a trackball mouse pointer.
It has a number of extra features that a user can benefit from if they have difficulty with these other trackballs.
There are separate buttons for left, right, double click, drag lock, and control of mouse speed.
It also has a switch interface box which allows external switches to be used and provide similar actions to the front panel buttons.
Moving onto joysticks.
Here deflection of the joystick moves the mouse cursor.
This one is from Unique Perspectives and is called the Point-It.
It provides proportional control of the mouse cursor.
So the more the joystick is deflected from the centre the faster the cursor moves.
Buttons around the joystick operate the left click, double click, right click and mouse speed.
The standard version has a switch on top which operates the left mouse button.
External switches can be connected here and they can control the mouse buttons.
This the Mini Point-It which is a compact version of the Point-It
It is designed to be connected to a Super Mount for easy mounting close to the user,
such as using it for chin control etc.
Traxsys also has a joystick mouse
similar to their trackball version.
It also provides proportional control of the mouse cursor.
Like their Traxsys trackball it has extra buttons which give the features such as mouse speed control and drag lock.
Also external switches can be connected to provide control of the mouse buttons.
This is the Easitrack also from Traxsys.
It has a soft joystick handle with large buttons for left and right click.
It also incorporates functions such as cursor speed or control of the scroll.
This is a touchpad from Glide Point.
An external touch pad can be connected to any PC.
Similar to touchpad’s that are on laptops
they allow the user to move their finger over the touchpad to move the cursor
and gently tap when they need to perform a mouse click.
Scrolling is available at the side.
Takes up little space to use when
compared to a standard mouse.
The Intellikeys keyboard is an overlay keyboard.
A variety of overlays are available for the keyboard and they can also be customised.
This overlay provides mouse control.
Moving on to the more high tech options.
This is Enable Viacom. It is mouse pointing software that moves the mouse as you move your head.
Can be downloaded from “SourceForge”.
It works with a standard laptop or desktop computer using a webcam.
So moving your head up and down makes the cursor move up and down
and moving your head left to right makes the cursor move left and right.
Mouse click can be preformed by dwelling the cursor for a short period at the one spot.
For example
But it does require quite good head control to use.
One of the most direct ways to control the mouse pointer is to directly touch the screen.
It does require a special touch sensitive screen.
Touching the screen anywhere
moves the pointer to that point.
And a tap on the screen actives a mouse click.
This is a D9 to USB interface from Unique Perspectives.
It plugs into the USB port and provides an interface for switch arrays that use a TASH D-type connector.
Here I have the wafer switch connected up and I can control the mouse pointer with it and perform a click.
Other devices that can be used are the Star or Penta switch array that both have the TASH interface.
On this computer I have installed JoyToKey.
Its software that enables a PC game controller to mimic a mouse or keyboard.
I have it setup here so that the controller can
operate the mouse cursor and the buttons can perform left and right click.
This software can be downloaded from OneSwitch.org
Joybox is a switch interface that allows any switch to be configured for mouse or keyboard emulation.
Here I have 4 switches set up to move the mouse around the screen and another one to perform a left click.
This last option I am going to show for alternative mouse control is an eyegaze system.
I am using one from Eye Response Technologies.
In the case of eyegaze technology a camera tracks eye movement and the mouse pointer follows the users gaze.
Mouse click is performed by dwelling
on a point or by eyeblink.
Requires the user to have good head and eye control.
Eyegase as an option that is typically used as a last resort.
However the technology is improving all the time.
I have on screen keyboard setup here.
As I move my eyegaze around the screen the cursor will
follow my eye and if I dwell my gaze on any character it selects that character.
So moving my eye within position of the camera
As I stare at the characters they are selected.
I can use a bit of word prediction on my left hand side
and that’s it.
Now I have just shown a range
of alternative mouse options.
It’s not a comprehensive list but a sample of options that’s available today.
These options can provide PC access to a wide range of users needs.
But bear in mind also that all operating systems have accessibility options and
mouse options that may assist a user having difficulty with the standard mouse.