Engineer creates a computer mouse controlled by your tongue

It’s possible technology has made us a bit lazy, but are we so lazy that we don’t even want to use our hand to control the computer mouse anymore?

Ben Krasnow, a mechanical and electrical engineer at Valve Corporation who enjoys projects that involve circuits, machining, and hacking, has developed a computer cursor that can be controlled with the tip of your tongue instead of a mouse.

Retainer mouthpiece includes sensors that control the computer cursor. (Image via Ben Krasnow,YouTube)

Krasnow attempted the project in order to discover the kind of precision that’s possible by simply moving your tongue.

He used a plastic retainer-like mouthpiece that sticks to the top of the mouth equipped with sensors on the underside in order to create an experience similar to “moving your finger across the sensor of an optical mouse,” Krasnow explained in his YouTube video.

Unfortunately, he discovered that for precise x/y coordinate movements like cursor control on the screen, the tongue-controlled cursor isn’t exactly ideal since it’s not precise enough to point to an exact position like a finger could.

Krasnow using mouthpiece to control the cursor on his computer. (Image via Ben Krasnow, YouTube)

However, Krasnow did discover that this kind of device would actually work better with technologies that require swiping movements such as swipe interfaces.

“It would be best in an environment where you don’t have a keyboard or a mouse,” said Krasnow. (Think augmented reality or Google Glass.) This would allow a user computer control without burdening the hands with actually carrying out the tasks.

This kind of device would offer the ability to interact with a computer while still being able to move about freely in the world.

Watch Ben Krasnow explain his device in detail below.