Hands-free head-motion interface using air pillow

Abstract

To realize a non-invasive hands-free interface for use in daily life, we propose a head-motion interface using an air pillow. This air pillow consists of four air bags in a layered overlapping pattern whose air pressures are measured to control the cursor position as well as click-and-drag operations on a PC screen. In accordance with the initial condition of the pillow and the user's head movement ability, rapid and user-friendly cursor manipulation is implemented. Based on the throughput and click time performance indices, a comparison is made with an existing interface to evaluate the proposed method as a practical hands-free interface. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.