When it comes to technology, we have to admire and appreciate its efforts made to accommodate just about everybody. Actually, it kind of has to, in order to maintain a steady flow of customers. Somewhat special are the recent innovative outbursts of computer hardware designed for the physically disabled people. Just because most of us take for granted the easy access of our fingers and hands to the keyboard and the mouse, it doesn’t mean that it’s quite that easy, if at all possible for others.
Most people have heard of Stephen Hawking. He is suffering from motor neurone disease also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which, in time, practically paralyzed him completely. Up until recently though, he still could slowly and faintly move his fingers. A great mind like his was surely in need of a computer, but he had no motor abilities like us to help him use a keyboard or a regular mouse. Still, he was given an unusual mouse which was his only interface with the computer. The cursor on the screen moves constantly, and he only needed to click the mouse in order for the cursor to select a certain word.
It’s true. There a lot of people that are physically impaired when it comes to using even such a simple thing like the mouse. Just take into consideration a person who has no arms. Sure enough, technology has made it possible nowadays for such a person to get a good mouse experience using… their feet! The mouse has a rather different aspect (depending on the producer) but its functions and mechanisms are the same as the regular mouse.
There even are computer mice for disabled people that can function with just a slight touch of a fingertip. Using motion and pressure sensors, these mice record any slight movement of the fingertip and “translate” it to a more complex virtual movement on-screen. These kinds of mice have been invented and are a good option for people who suffer from paralysis. Using just that mouse a person can perform virtually any tasks on the computer. Of course, software developers had to come up with virtual keyboards and other virtual aids integrated in the operating system to help the physically impaired person.
Other, more interesting computer mice for disabled people use laser or radio waves technology. The mouse in those cases is practically a helmet on the head of the person that has a light beam pointed toward a receiver. When the person moves his head, the cursor on the screen moves accordingly to the signal of the movement processed after the receiver sends in the coordinates. It’s more like a remote control really, if you think about it.
Even a blind person can benefit from a mouse nowadays. The mouse is specially designed to have indented characters on its surface instead of buttons for clicking. There are also a wide variety of joystick computer mice out there. These help people with locomotor impediments (locomotor ataxia for example).
Next time you handle a mouse or use a keyboard, just take a second and consider that the fact that you’re healthy and can easily do these things isn’t something you should always take for granted.
Most people have heard of Stephen Hawking. He is suffering from motor neurone disease also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which, in time, practically paralyzed him completely. Up until recently though, he still could slowly and faintly move his fingers. A great mind like his was surely in need of a computer, but he had no motor abilities like us to help him use a keyboard or a regular mouse. Still, he was given an unusual mouse which was his only interface with the computer. The cursor on the screen moves constantly, and he only needed to click the mouse in order for the cursor to select a certain word.
It’s true. There a lot of people that are physically impaired when it comes to using even such a simple thing like the mouse. Just take into consideration a person who has no arms. Sure enough, technology has made it possible nowadays for such a person to get a good mouse experience using… their feet! The mouse has a rather different aspect (depending on the producer) but its functions and mechanisms are the same as the regular mouse.
There even are computer mice for disabled people that can function with just a slight touch of a fingertip. Using motion and pressure sensors, these mice record any slight movement of the fingertip and “translate” it to a more complex virtual movement on-screen. These kinds of mice have been invented and are a good option for people who suffer from paralysis. Using just that mouse a person can perform virtually any tasks on the computer. Of course, software developers had to come up with virtual keyboards and other virtual aids integrated in the operating system to help the physically impaired person.
Other, more interesting computer mice for disabled people use laser or radio waves technology. The mouse in those cases is practically a helmet on the head of the person that has a light beam pointed toward a receiver. When the person moves his head, the cursor on the screen moves accordingly to the signal of the movement processed after the receiver sends in the coordinates. It’s more like a remote control really, if you think about it.
Even a blind person can benefit from a mouse nowadays. The mouse is specially designed to have indented characters on its surface instead of buttons for clicking. There are also a wide variety of joystick computer mice out there. These help people with locomotor impediments (locomotor ataxia for example).
Next time you handle a mouse or use a keyboard, just take a second and consider that the fact that you’re healthy and can easily do these things isn’t something you should always take for granted.
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