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THIS PROCEDURE WILL HELP YOU MAKE A HEAD POINTING DEVICE, OR HEAD MOUSE, FOR YOUR HOME COMPUTER. |
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DESCRIPTION A HEAD MOUSE IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL POINTING DEVICES LIKE HAND MICE. A HEAD MOUSE MOVES THE CURSOR BASED ON THE POSITION OF THE USERS HEAD. APART FROM USE AMONG DISABLED PERSONS OR RESEARCH, HEAD MICE HAVE NOT BECOME POPULAR DUE TO THE RELATIVE COST AND STEEP LEARNING CURVE INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM. IN THIS PROJECT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT A FUNCTIONAL HEAD MOUSE FROM AN OLD WEBCAM AND A FEW SPARE PARTS. IN SHORT,
THE WEBCAM IS FILTERED TO BE SENSTIVE ONLY TO INFRARED, AND THE SOFTWARE
TRACKS THE POSITION OF AN IR LED ATOP THE MONITOR. THE REQUIRED
SOFTWARE IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD. |
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MATERIALS |
-WEBCAM. NEWER
WEBCAMS PROVIDE BETTER FRAMERATES. WEBCAM USED MUST BE IR SENSTIVE;
MOST ARE BUT MOST 'X-CAMS' ARE NOT -PHOTO NEGATIVES (THE DARK, UNEXPOSED END PIECES OF THE NEGATIVE IS ALL THAT'S REQUIRED) -SOFTWARE AVAILABLE BELOW |
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EQUIPMENT |
-WINDOWS PC |
SOFTWARE
THIS SOFTWARE WORKS BY TRACKING THE LOCATION OF THE IR LED. THE TRACKING IS SIMPLE; IT SIMPLY POSITIONS THE CURSOR ON THE SCREEN IN THE SAME RELATIVE LOCATION AS THE LED'S POSITION IN THE WEBCAM VIEW.

THE SOFTWARE HAS SEVERAL OPTIONS ON THE MAIN SCREEN. THE LARGE DISPLAY AT THE LEFT IS THE WEBCAM OUTPUT; YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE A WHITE SPOT THAT IS THE IR LED. THE OTHER OPTIONS ARE:
"+90" - THIS CHECKBOX IS USED IF YOU'VE MOUNTED YOUR CAMERA 90 DEGREES FROM THE DIRECTION IS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO (I.E. VERTICALLY INSTEAD OF HORIZONTALLY)
"MAGNIFICATION" - THREE SETTINGS, NORMAL, 2X, 3X. THIS MAGNIFIES YOUR HEAD MOVEMENTS SO THAT LESS MOTION IS REQUIRED TO MOVE THE MOUSE. IT DOES MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO DO PRECISE MOVEMENTS, HOWEVER.
"AVERAGING" - THE PROGRAM HAS TWO MODES, GROSS, AND FINE. WHEN YOU MAKE A LARGE MOVEMENT, IT SWITCHES TO GROSS MODE, AND MOVES THE CURSOR TO THE LOCATION THAT YOUR HEAD IS AT. FOR SMALL MOVEMENTS, THE PROGRAM USES FINE MODE, AND MOVES THE CURSOR BASED ON THE AVERAGE OF THE LAST FEW POINTS RECORDED. THE AVERAGE SLIDER DETERMINES HOW MANY POINTS ARE USED IN THE AVERAGE. LARGER NUMBERS OF POINTS WILL INCREASE PRECISION BUT ALSO INCREASE DRIFT AND THE TIME IT TAKES TO CENTER ON SOMETHING.
"DEADZONE" - A DEADZONE, IN PIXELS. IF THE CURSOR WOULD MOVE LESS THAN THIS MANY PIXELS, THE MOTION IS IGNORED. THIS HELPS PRECISION, HOWEVER MAKING IT TOO LARGE CAN MAKE THE CURSOR JUMPY.
"CAM SETUP" - THIS OPENS THE WINDOWS VIDEO CONTROL PANEL, ALLOWING YOU TO SET THE ACTIVE CAMERA, AND ITS RESOLUTION.
"160 X 120" - YOU MUST ENTER THE RESOLUTION OF THE CAMERA YOU'RE USING IN THESE BOXES.
DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE ![]()
DOWNLOAD SOURCE CODE ![]()
READER QUESTIONS
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