Wheelchairs controlled by ... tongue

Engineers in the United Kingdom and the United States have developed a wheelchair to help people with paralysis of the limbs can be controlled by the tongue.

The media operates by tiny microphones in the ear and is blocked by external sound with a button. When the user moves the tongue, it disturbs the air in the mouth, altering the pressure and producing a distinct motion. Pressure change is transferred from the mouth to the ear through the Otter's hose. The microphone recognizes the transfer of pressure and converts it into an electronic signal and sends it to the computer. From there the signal is transformed into a wheelchair control.

The chair by Ravi Vaidyanathan at the University of Southampton and Lalit Gupta at Carbondale University in Southern Illinois is considered a new evolution in the current technology. People who have paralysis of the hands often have to blow through a straw to control a wheelchair, and thus become very unhygienic or annoying.

This tongue control will be launched later this year.

MT