Facial Mouse

Facial Mouse Review

Name of the technology: Facial Mouse
Link: http://www.crea-si.com/eng/rfacial.php
Price: Free (Demo Only)
Popularity: NA
Minimal physical requirements: The patient has to be able to move his head freely.

Detailed Description:

Facial Mouse is a mouse replacement software that moves the pointer as you move your head. It works on standard PCs equipped with a web camera. No additional hardware is required. It is as easy to use as sitting in front of your computer and looking at your screen.

Hands-Free: Control your computer with intuitive head movements. No need to use your hands — the pointer will obey!
Unobtrusive: Works with any good webcam. No cables, no dots, no additional hardware required.
Flexible: Click and choose clicking options by way of either pointer dwelling or microphone input.
State-of-the-art: Stable motion tracking is guaranteed thanks to its automatic face location feature.
User-centered: Developed and tested in close collaboration with users from the APPC Cerebral Palsy Centre in Tarragona, Spain.

Facial Mouse can be used as a full alternative or as a complement to a conventional computer mouse. It is especially useful for people with motor impairments in their hands or their arms (due to bone injuries, ALS, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, amputations, etc.). Facial Mouse provides them with an effective and reliable solution for human-to-computer interaction.

Easiness and simplicity: Simple installation, intuitive use. The integrated configuration wizard gets you started easily. Training can be kept to a minimum.
Maximum comfort, Wireless control without any additional accessories: You only need a webcam and Facial Mouse software. There is no need to purchase expensive hardware or to place cables, sensors, or any other troublesome devices on your body.
Customizability: Pointer speed, movement acceleration and smoothness, dwelling time, and many other variables can be adjusted to fit the user's needs.
User autonomy: This product was specifically designed to eliminate the need for assistance after installation.
Satisfaction guaranteed: Before deciding on any system, try Facial Mouse at home during a 30-day free trial period. Download it now!
Competitive price: Facial Mouse is best value for money in its range. Buy it now! Facial Mouse moves the mouse pointer across the screen as you move your face in front of it. Our exclusive artificial vision technology uses the image captured by a standard web camera, and we use advanced techniques to guarantee an accurate and smooth movement of the mouse pointer.

Facial Mouse can emulate mouse clicks by way of any of the following methods:

Dwell click: The click occurs when you let the pointer dwell on any spot of the screen.
Sound click: The click occurs when you input sound by way of a microphone. You can use a short sound to left click and a long sound to right click. The volume threshold can be adjusted. Set it low to make the software react at the slightest puff, or high if you need to prevent background noise from causing undesired actions.
External click: The automatic click feature can be disabled if you want to use an external device send click commands to the computer, for example a standard mouse or a mechanical switch. Moreover, with the Dwell click and Sound click options you can use the Click bar choose a click option: left click, right click, double click or drag & drop.

Setting your preferences

Facial Mouse comes with a configuration panel that fits the needs of any user.
Auto-start options.
Motion options: speed (both axes), acceleration and smoothness.
Automatic clicks: dwell, sound or disabled.
Dwell click options: dwell time, sensitivity, visual feedback and consecutive clicks.
Sound click options: sound threshold, left click sound duration, right click sound duration, etc.
Enable/Disable options: disable when clicking with a conventional mouse, toggle key.
Tracking area options: size and automatic face tracking.
Click bar options: thin or normal design, normal or fast mode.

System requirements:

PC with a 1-GHz processor or faster.
128 MB RAM or higher.
Available USB port.
USB webcam with a minimum resolution of 320x240 pixels at 20 fps or faster. We recommend using a camera with a CCD (instead of a CMOS) image sensor, for best performance.
Microsoft™ Windows™ 98SE/ME/2000/XP operating systems or later.
Optional: To use the Sound click feature, you will need a standard desktop or headset microphone and a 16 bits or better sound card.

Additional software requirements

DirectX ™ Controllers
If you use Windows™ 98SE, you need to install DirectX™ v7.0 or a newer version.