Tech start-up unveils new way to control smartphones and laptops by tilting your head

A tech start-up called Augmental has unveiled the MouthPad, a new device designed to allow the physically impaired to interact more easily with devices.

Tech start-up unveils new way to control smartphones and laptops by tilting your head
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San Francisco accessibility startup Augmental is working on head tracking and 'Silent speech' for their innovative 'Mouthpad' to give people with physical disabilities the ability to interact with computers and smartphones much more easily.

The idea behind the new technology is to give people with physical disabilities the ability to control their laptop with a slight flick of your tongue or even answering a phone call by tilting their head. Augmental is an inspiring startup and took to CES this year to give the first public demo of its 'MouthPad,' a unique mouse that gives those who have physical disabilities a new way to interact with technology.

Speaking exclusively with TechCrunch, the company shared what they have going on and what's to come, stating, "One of the new features we recently added to the MouthPad is head dragging and head controls. Users can now move their heads to control the cursor, in addition to the tongue gestures we previously announced," said Oscar Rosello, head of Design at Augmental.

The head tilt function works with the use of a gyroscope embedded within the smart dental retainer to move the cursor on your phone, laptop, or other Bluetooth devices.

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Augmental has also been working on its 'silent speech' function, which will give users the ability to form words without the need for vocalization, meaning instead of them having to speak, the device uses subtle moments of their tongues to decipher the intended words. This can then be used to communicate through written or audio-generated responses to give those who otherwise cannot speak a voice and is also planned to feature bone conduction to allow for immediate response during interactions.

The company claims to have about 20 current users and states that for some of them, the device is "life-changing." According to Rosello, for beta users, the fancy retainer costs around $1,000, but pricing and availability details are not yet confirmed with the hope they can make it to the US sometime this year and worldwide down the track.

In other CES 2024 news, there was a tonne of new OLED gaming monitors announced from multiple different brands. There was also some strange new AI-infused devices, such as Samsung's Ballie, which is designed to be a companion guard dog that can take calls, follow you around the house, come when called and even greet you at the door. Other big CES 2024 news is the announcement of the world's first AI-infused grill that can cook a steak in just 90 seconds.

If you are interested in checking out some of the insane news coming out of CES 2024, check out the below links!