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Controller for quadratic friend.

thematman92

So I am trying to make a controller for a friend who is quadratic ( no motor function below the neck) I want the controller to be operated by mouth. The idea is the controller will be like a mouth guard that you can bite on and use your tongue to manipulate.

I want there to be a dpad in the front you came manipulate with your tongue as well as start/select buttons.  Then a A and B button on either side you can bite to activate. I them want a rubber shell it goes into that can be removed and cleaned due to the fact that it's going into someone's mouth and should be cleaned

I don't know a lot about electrical stuff but I can solder and read some schematics so I think I can do this but I was hoping some one one here could help me select the things I'll need. Such as buttons that are sturdy enough l, a material I can build it on that can stand up to being bitten a lot. I also have no idea how to make a rubber shell for it. If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it.

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  • I suspect you mean quadriplegic - maybe you were auto-corrected in the posting.

     

    Making things that are biocompatible is not easy - part of the issue will be making it out of material that is safe to go into the mouth, won't break apart, is resistant to saliva, is insulating so as to avoid any risk of electric shock (else it might feel like licking a 9V battery). It sounds more like a fabrication project more than anything, but then you have to cable it somehow to a device that will produce the inputs to a computer or mobile device (e.g. an Arduino emulating a keyboard for example).

     

    I don't have any great ideas as such, but there are probably some tactile switches that can be found for PCB mounting that might have a large enough actuation area. A d-pad would be more difficult but I suppose you can build this out of a number of these switches. You would need them slim enough to fit inside the mouth comfortably, but still provide enough support (e.g. on a PCB) so they don't get badly deformed by bite force. The actuation force range will have to be experimentally determined as well - can't require too much force otherwise might tire the user out, too little and you might get false activation. Then you might consider encapsulating the whole thing in some flexible food-contact grade silicone to give it water-proof capabilities ... but sharp teeth might still make it through or take chunks out of the silicone.

     

    Not sure how practical it might be, but if you keep a capacitive touch-screen clean and close to the user, I've seen some people actuate on-screen controls by using their nose or tongue directly.

     

    - Gough

  • in reply to Gough Lui

    The plan was to have a removal cover make on a water proof material that could be washed and replaced if is gets holes in it. Though I don't know what material to use or how to make a mold or anything like that.

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