Wearable wireless tongue controlled assistive device using optical sensors

Studies show that globally, about 1 in 50 people are living with paralysis and the amount increasing year by year. Paralysis can leave present these people with no interest in life leading to mental depression. An assistive device can aid a disabled person with a support to lead an easy life and it should be able to efficiently discern user´s intention providing ease of usage. This paper proposes a wireless, wearable tongue controlled assistive device called Optical Sensor Based Tongue Controlled Assistive Device (OTCAD). Here the tongue movement is sensed using a small and low cost infrared (IR) sensor, mounted bilaterally near user´s cheek. The user uses his/her tongue to change the reflection intensity of the sensor and this signal change is converted into user commands through signal processing. These commands are then wirelessly transmitted to PC/Smartphone through which the user can control their home environment, move a wheel chair or pass information to their care taker.