A person who cannot talk might use this system to express synthetic voice messages stored in the computer. Wearing a head-mounted pointer or mouse, the user moves the cursor to keys on a keyboard display, then, by puffing into a straw attached to the headset, the key is selected and typed on the screen. On an even more sophisticated level is the Eye-gaze Computer System, manufactured by LC Technologies. This vision-controlled device allows people with motor disabilities to do many things with their eyes that they cannot do with their hands. Simply by looking at keys on a computer screen, the user can perform tasks such as speaking synthetically, controlling household appliances, playing games, studying lessons, using the phone, or writing papers.
Nothing is attached to the person using the system.
Persons who have some control of their hands can use special keyboards instead of pointing or switching devices. These keyboards range in size from miniature models, which can be operated with one hand, to oversized units. Another device that can help someone operate a computer is a joystick, a gearshift-like switch that emulates the functions of a keyboard. The user can then either select one of these words or type additional letters to narrow the field of possibilities. Replacing the keyboard altogether, a touch-sensitive display allows a person to operate a computer merely by touching the screen.