‘Eye mouse’ for the physically challenged

MANGALORE:




                Four final-year electronics and communication engineering students have developed an " Eye Mouse", an input device for people who are unable to move their hands.




                 Shruthi Shettigar, Prasad Nayak, Vanishri and Sandhya Shet of the Srinivas Institute of Technology (SIT) developed the device under the guidance of associate professor Sathish Kumar K and Bheema Shastry, head of the department of electronics and communication engineering, SIT.



                 Sathish told TOI the students developed an application and installed it on a webcam-connected computer. The computer is connected to a light-dependent resistor circuit that is fixed to a chair. Once a physically challenged person sits on the chair, the computer turns on and the webcam captures the person's eyeball movements, says Sathish. The recorded video is automatically uploaded to the application developed by the students.



             "After this, a physically challenged person can start using the computer without using a mouse," says Sathish. "The user has to just stare closely at the folder or icon, and within few seconds the folder opens."



     Through eyeball movements, the cursor can be moved on to any folder.



                  The students, who spent Rs 5,000 on the innovation, are trying to get a patent for it. "After getting a patent, we will launch this product in the market to help the handicapped," says Sathish.