User blog
Voice activated switch for myTobii ?
We're looking for a switch my son can use to trigger a 'click' instead of holding his gaze for two seconds. He can make a reliable clucking sound with his tongue, so I thought a sound activated switch would work well.
Does anyone know of an external hardware sound activated switch and how it would hook up to myTobii?
Or a software based switch (and we'd plug a mic into the myTobii)?
Thanks,
Geoffrey and Joschi
Hi
I am not an expert in sound controlled switches, maybe there is one working properly.
But, the first thing that comes to my mind is the new Impulse switch from AbleNet. It’s a small and very sensitive switch that can be controlled be very small muscle movements. And it works also in noisy environments. So please take a look at the AbleNet´s homepage for more info and resellers www.ablenetinc.com.
They also have a lot of other switches that might work for your son.
Good luck
Roger Henriksson
Hi, I don't know about switches. I sounds to me you have to do a lot of tonqueclicking to type some text. Dwelling sounds easier to me.
I do know that you can choose a dwelltime that's approriate. 2 Seconds sounds very long to me. You could set the dwell time to 0,5 or 1 second. Maybe that's much better already?
Jikke
You may want to look at the Proteor switch. Much less expensive than the AbleNet Impulse switch. You also may want to look at the DynaVox EyeMax. You can do more with a switch on a DynaVox than on other devices: such as innovative scanning patterns; turn on the device with a switch or sound an alarm or pause with a switch. Also easy to change between eye-tracking and switch-scanning.
Hi there,
there is a sound switch produced from an Australian company:
http://www.tecsol.com.au/SwitchSound.htm
I have no experiences with it, so this is just info, not a recommendation.
I do have tried both the Proteor switch and the AbleNet Impulse, and both work fine. However, it is like comparing a bicycle with a Harley Davidson. The value per spent money they both offer should be the same in the end.
All the best,
Uli
Dipl. Päd. Uli Ehlert, Tobii Technology GmbH
Hi, My name is Marie. My daughter has cp and just got a Tobii. She is having the same problem with the dwelling too long to click. I am going to try a program called magic cursor. She used that on her computor befored she got a Tobii. It brings up a mini tool bar that has single click, double click, and drag options. You have to have an external cd drive to load it on your Tobii for the first time. I think this will work well because you do not have to worry about an external switch. If you are interested I can find more out about what company sells magic cursor and get the info back to you.
Again I have not tried it yet but I do intend to.
Marie
Hi Marie and Geoffrey,
I'm wondering what exactly the problem is with the dwelling?
Is it just too long? Did you try to decrease the dwell time in the settings of MyTobii?
Ismail uses a dwelltime of about 0.5 second, which is pretty short. But if set longer, his head turns away too often to be able to click. Maybe for your children it is better too if the dwelltime is made shorter?
If you really want to use this Magic cursor, be aware that there are some freeware alternatives, like clickaid mousehelper http://polital.com/ca/ That could save you some money :-)
Jikke
Hi again,
I don't think that Magic Cursor or similar software will solve your problems, as these programs do exactly the same as the MyTobii Mouse Mode: they provide a click via dwell, so the user needs to hold still for a certain time. They might be a bit more adjustable in some details, but the basic problem is still the same.
In the opposite, I'd guess that problems will get worse, as Magic Cursor & co only work with the mouse pointer. And to maintain the mouse pointer at the same spot is much more effortsome than the red-dot method that Tobii uses in applications designed for it, such as Communicator.
If keeping the focus at one spot for a certain period of time is a problem, there are only two solutions (assuming of course that you already tried with different times, see comment above):
1. Increase the size of the targets. There are many opportunities to work with large buttons, it is just a matter of arranging the buttons in the right way on the pages. Spreading them out on a few more pages, so that the single buttons can have a bigger size, may result in a few more hits for switching pages, but would definitely be worth the effort as clicks can then be performed easily and safe.
In fact finding the right button size to work with is the key to properly work with eyecontrol. Use a flexible communication software as Communicator to be able to first decide on the right item sizes, and then select suitable content available (or to be created) in that size - not the other way around.
2. As suggested in the original thread, find an external switch that can be operated easily, as addition to the gaze pointing. There are tons of switches out there that could match.
I would guess that an audio switch might be troublesome, as it will also react to noises from the environment. But switches reacting on minimal muscle activity, wobble switches for gross motor movement, pedal switches for being operated with the feet etc. should be usable. In my practice of more than 10 years assessing clients with AAC needs I hardly ever found one single person where we could not apply any switch - yet sometimes it took a long time to find the right solution.
The problem then, before the P10 being around, was always the working speed and sometimes the cognitive load when users were forced to have scanning as their input method. It is so painfully slow in comparison to eyecontrol, it is just different planets.
I have also been selling Dynavox for a couple of years, and these machines do not offer different stuff than all the other scanning devices in the end. The eyetrackers used on that devices have quite some limitations when it comes to difficult calibrations, freedom of movement and so on. I don't really understand Judy's point to throw that in.
So don't get confused here: scanning will always be slow, no matter which scan patterns are chosen, regardless what things can be controlled via switches. You got the most reliable and accurate eyecontrol in the AAC field with your P10, the rest of the path you need to go is a matter of fine-tuning from here on.
Best of luck!
Uli
Dipl. Päd. Uli Ehlert, Tobii Technology GmbH
Dear Joschi,
In the UK QED do an excellent range of switches and a good sound switch http://www.qedonline.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=78&products_id...
You have had a lot of information and questions as a reply to your blog so I will try to not add too many more.
Are you aware that you can use blink on the Mytobii P10 as a form of input?
With the MyTobii what software are you using with your son, Communicator or The Grid 2?
What problems is he currently experiencing with the dwell on the MyTobii?
If I can help in any way please do let me know.
Kindest Regards
Gemma Eardley
Smartbox Assistive Technology Ltd. gemma@smartboxat.com
Smart House, 4a Court Road, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 3BL, UK
Tel +44 (0)1684 578868 Fax 897753
We found using a blink instead of dwell worked so much better for my wife. The dwell just too long, and with a blink, you are able to stare at something without it interpreting it as a "click" from the dwell.
Her spedd also increased dramatically.
Hope this helps.