Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Tongue Mouse Created By Valve Engineer

A tongue-based mouse created by Valve engineer Ben Krasnow is described and demonstrated in the following video; it's an interesting concept.


(Tongue-based Mouse by Ben Krasnow, Valve engineer)

According to Krasnow, this doesn't work perfectly despite the tongue's "fine motor control" as it is difficult to smoothly achieve the 2D movement necessary to operate a system developed for a classic mouse controller.

"I think there is possible applications for swipe interfaces, carousel menus, yes/no input, etc." he writes in the video description.

Krasnow describes the practical use of the device as being an alternative to traditional keyboard and mouse set-ups.

The idea of a tongue-controlled interface has been used various times by science fiction writers. For example, in Alfred Bester's 1956 novel The Stars My Destination, he used a similar idea: a dental "switchboard" that was tongue-controlled.

He pressed hard with his tongue against his right upper first molar. The operation that had transformed half his body into an electronic machine, had located the control switchboard in his teeth. Foyle pressed a tooth with his tongue and the peripheral cells of his retina were excited into emitting a soft light...
(Read more about Bester's dental switchboard)

I wonder if Krasnow is aware of the work done by Niven and Lerner on the related idea of tongueprint verification?

Use your preferred input device to click on one of these related stories:

Via Polygon; thanks to an anonymous reader for contributing this item.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/8/2013)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Input Device ")

MIT Headset Lets You Communicate Without Speaking
'The subvocal read nerve signals, letting her enter words by just beginning to will them...' - David Brin, 1990.

Tongue Mouse Created By Valve Engineer
'He pressed hard with his tongue against his right upper first molar.'- Alfred Bester, 1956.

Skinput Uses Your Skin As An Input Device
Nifty input technology takes advantage of your biggest organ to provide you with easy input.

AcceleGlove Open-Source Data Glove
This device was developed at great expense by your government, and now you can have one at a very reasonable price; developers use Java to program it.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

How Old Are Tesla Designs?
You be the judge.

Is Your Autonomous Tractor Safe?
'The field-minder finished turning the top-soil of a two-thousand-acre field.'

Smart TVs Are Listening!
'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'

Police Drones In China Would Like To Have A Word With You
''OVERRIDE,' the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.'

Oh Great (Part 2), Fence-Climbing Robots
Please, no stingers.

Are The Thought Police Listening To Everyone All The Time?
'... they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.'

Finally, Robot Conductors On Autonomous Buses
'Wardour Street,' he told the robot-conductor.'

RoboShiko! Sumo Exercises Still Good For Robots
'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'

Giant Robotic Hands At Gundam Next Future Science
'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.'

JWST Finds Bucking Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.'

BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'

California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.'

Robots Need A Better Sense Of Touch
'First, it rubbed my arms...'

MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'

REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...'

Disney Helping Robots Dance
Dance, Robots, Dance.

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.