Augmental MouthPad is a tongue-controlled touchpad/trackpad

Augmental MouthPad is a tongue-controlled touchpad/trackpad - CNX Software

Check your calendar, everyone! It’s definitely not April 1st. Now that we have that out of the way, we can start with the main topic of this article. Ready? Augmental MouthPad is a Bluetooth HID device you put into your mouth and control like a touchpad or trackpad, but with your tongue (and head) instead of your fingers.<br>MouthPad is a custom-fit mouthpiece that turns tongue and head movements into HID data to control a phone, a tablet, and a computer like you would normally do with using a mouse, touchpad, or a touchscreen. When I first read about it and saw a short video on X, it felt like a joke, but it can be a lifesaver for people with disabilities.

MouthPad specifications:

Compatibility – macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android

Connectivity – Bluetooth

Battery

7+ hours of continuous use

1.5 hours charge time

Dimensions

MouthPad – About ~30 × 50 × 80 mm; membrane thickness about 1mm

Charging case – 38 × 75 × 95 mm

Weight

MouthPad – 10 grams

Charging case – 112 grams

Material- Dental resin

Battery certifications – UN 38.3, IEC 62133

Besides the MouthPad and charging case, the package also includes a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging. The documentation website explains how to left-click, right-click, scroll, click-and-drag, and pause/resume the cursor with your tongue and head movements. The company claims over 100 people already use it, and some for up to 16 hours/day. Just don’t drink hot drinks or eat while wearing it. Cold water is fine.<br>Since the MouthPad needs to be customized, it requires an intraoral 3D scan from your dentist or a local scanning provider, which should cost $50 to $150 in the US. The MouthPad is only available in the US, as the company follows US regulations. They also only ship to US addresses, but don’t geo-fence any of the device’s features or capabilities, so the MouthPad will work outside the US as well. I assume that means you could probably order a MouthPad through a US forwarding agent if you live outside of the US, although it might be harder to have the 1-year warranty work that way. You might also want to wait since Augmental plans to eventually go global.

Intraoral 3D scan

As one would expect, such a device is quite pricey, and goes for $1,400 excluding the cost of the dental scan. But it can be worth it if it’s the only way to use a computer or phone. Buying two devices is $1,900 and something that may be useful if it needs to be used more than 7 hours a day. The company is also working on the VOX wearable microphone to simulate a keyboard.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)<br>Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

Augmental MouthPad is a tongue-controlled touchpad/trackpad

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