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Advantages of Force Control

A project log for The BYTE

A hands free universal interface

oneohmoneohm 09/09/2020 at 23:270 Comments

Instead of responding to tongue position, the BYTE is force controlled. This is an important distinction as some people with cerebral palsy find it challenging to perform fine and precise articulation of their tongues. 

With the BYTE, the whole tongue can be pressed against the nav-button and rocked or tilted in the desired direction. There is no need to hold the tongue in a specific position or to make small precise movements; in fact, the exact position of the tongue is largely unimportant.

For users who may suffer from spasms of their tongue or chin muscles, additional averaging and filtering can be implemented in the controller. This approach will still provide accurate pointing since following a spasm the tongue need not return exactly to its previous position, but simply re-apply pressure in the desired direction.

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