thought this interesting.
ts
The Nouse -- for "nose as mouse" -- has obvious benefits for computer users with disabilities that prevent them from operating a mouse. But it also could have applications in electronic kiosks, defense and space flight.
What's the next big thing in computer interfaces, foot pedals?
No. The answer, actually, is as plain as the nose on your face.
No. The answer, actually, is as plain as the nose on your face.
The Nouse is based on the recognition of universal facial movements. The inventor, Dmitry Gorodnichy of the Canadian National Research Council's Institute of Information Technology unit, says the technology is ready to be licensed now.
Follow Your Nose
The Nouse -- for "nose as mouse" -- has an obvious application for computer users with disabilities that prevent the operation of a mouse. A person sitting in front of a screen can move the pointer through movements of their nose and eyelids.
The technology uses a Web cam as the interface between face and computer. Based on perceptual vision technology, it looks at a user's face and remembers the tip of the nose in a region comprised of about 25 pixels. As a user moves his or her face, the nose must follow -- and the pointer also moves.
The eyelids take the place of clicking. Double blink and the nouse comes to life. Blink the left eye to left-click. A blink of the right eye is a right-click.
Multi-Faceted Problem
Gorodnichy's research for the nouse began in 2001. By 2002, he had a working prototype. Now it is ready for licensing from the National Research Council. "There are many high-tech companies who are interested in it," he told NewsFactor. "Now it's up to them to use it," he noted.
But the technology is only in its infancy. Gorodnichy sees the application of the Nouse as a first step in control devices using the face. "It's just one facet out of a multi-faceted problem," he said.
So far, Gorodnichy's lab has developed blink detection and is improving its perceptual vision systems, which can recognize and memorize faces. "It's a technology that can know who is sitting in front of the computer and can trigger events just with the face," he added.
A few applications, such as NousePaint, a multiple-user game called NousePong, and one called BubbleFrenzy, have been developed for demonstrations.
But in the future PVS, might be used in electronic kiosks, defense and space flight applications.
| Yahoo! Groups Sponsor | |
|
|
Yahoo! Groups Links
- To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HolyGeek/
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
