Development of a Sip-and-Puff Interface for Communication and Control of Devices

Abstract

People with severe motor dysfunctions need regular support to perform daily activities. Commercially are few affordable solutions that allow the control of everyday devices such as lamps, fans, and computers by tetraplegic. Thus, based on the concepts of assistive technology, this paper presents the development of a sip-and-puff interface that enables communication and control of devices. A hysteresis comparator circuit converts pressure signals into digital commands of sip-and-puff. The ARM Cortex - M4 STM32F429 microcontroller interprets the desirable actions and controls the graphical user interface on a VGA display. The system allows the activation of electrical equipment by relays and the operation of a computer through a virtual mouse and keyboard. Moreover, the invention handles a prototype of an adjustable bed, in which puff actions move DC motors that shift the structure. The results obtained with the prototype are satisfactory evaluating the ease of operation and its cost. These results encourage further studies with quadriplegic patients.