Hands-free computing refers to a computer system where a

user Ancient Egyptian roles * User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty * Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User" Other uses * User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...

can interface without the use of their

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...

s, an otherwise common requirement of

human interface device A human interface device (HID) is a type of computer device usually used by humans that takes input from or provides output to humans. The term "HID" most commonly refers to the USB HID specification. The term was coined by Mike Van Flandern ...

s such as the

mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...

and keyboard. Hands-free computing is important because it is useful to both able and

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

users.

Speech recognition Speech recognition is an interdisciplinary subfield of computer science and computational linguistics that develops methodologies and technologies that enable the recognition and translation of spoken language into text by computers. It is also ...

systems can be trained to recognize specific commands and upon confirmation of correctness instructions can be given to systems without the use of hands. This may be useful while driving or to an inspector or engineer in a factory environment. Likewise disabled persons may find hands-free computing important in their everyday lives. Just like

visually impaired Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

have found computers useful in their lives. This can range from using the tongue, lips, mouth, or movement of the head to voice activated interfaces utilizing speech recognition software and a microphone or

bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

technology. Examples of available hands-free computing devices include mouth-operated

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...

types such as the TetraMouse, the QuadJoy, the Jouse2, the QuadStick, and the IntegraMouse,

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

based head tracking systems such as SmartNav, Tracker Pro, FreeTrack, HeadMouse Extreme, HeadMaster, KinesicMouse and Smyle Mouse,Smyle Mouse: Head mouse software for hands-free computer control via face gestures captured by a web-cam https://smylemouse.com and speech recognition specialized for disabilities such as Voice Finger. The joystick types require no physical connections to the user and enhances the user's feeling of independence. Camera types require targets mounted on the user, usually with the help of a

caregiver A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

, that are sensed by the camera and associated software. Camera types are sensitive to ambient lighting and the mouse pointer may drift and inaccuracies result from head movements not intended to be mouse movements. Other examples of hands-free mice are units that are operated using switches that may be operated by the feet (or other parts of the body), such as the NoHands Mouse and the switch-adapted TetraMouse. Speech recognition specialized for disabilities and hands-free computing focus more on low-level control of the keyboard and mouse than on usual areas like dictation.

References

See also