New Media Exploration - The Nouse

While searching for new media designs I came across reports about the progress of voice and facial recognition technology. While most of us have seen the new voice activated stereo and GPS systems in cars, this technology will be greatly supportive for many people with disabilities.

Virtually every facial feature has been mined for its interactive capabilities. Researchers have attached electrodes to eyes, eyebrows and temples allowing users to engage with the world via their computers with winks and sideways glances.

One of the inventions is the "Nouse" a computer mouse that allows users to move a cursor around the screen with gentle movements of their nose. Blinking the left or right eye replaces the customary left- or right-mouse click.
The Nouse, used in combination with perceptual vision technology tools like Blink Detection and Facial Memorization and Recognition, offers a new vision-based and hands-free interaction with computers. A camera mounted on the top of a computer takes a picture of the user's nose, then uses that picture to track the movement of the user's nose – to make the cursor move.

Although most of the voice and face recognition technology is still in its prototype stage, the experts predict it to be fully functional within the next 10 years.