EVA Facial Mouse, control your phone only with nods

EVA is a mouse emulator that lets you move a pointer head so that it is not necessary use the touch screen. A solution that makes sense to use a smartphone to people with special mobility needs.

CREA Computer Systems has led to mobile facial mouse for PC and Linux, Enable Viacam. Its technology makes tracking the gestures of the face through the front camera phone or tablet. Just started and still has a long way to go, but we tested and has shown that it works.

Beginning with EVA Facial Mouse

The first time you activate the app skips a tutorial that helps you not only learn to use this mouse, also put into operation. It is necessary to tweak some configuration items and perform some additional installation, so will help you have a person with full mobility.

first, it must be enabled as the application starts. To do this you have to follow the Settings> Accessibility> EVA Facial Mouse route. Appears bottom, in the Services section, and you just have to make a click.

Second need a compatible keyboard, so the app brings your own. In this case, the procedure is Settings> Language & input> Current keyboard or default> Choose keyboards or input methods . Once there you select the keyboard EVA and return to the previous menu. Again click on current or default keyboard and change the EVA coming down the keyboard.

Once enabled, this system is as default and becomes active in all mobile. As a result, applications that require the camera are blocked. But it is a big problem because you can connect and disconnect from the notification bar at any time.

the third step is to test and use face detection. The camera is activated and appears what you see in a small box at the top of the screen. It is the starting point of the pointer, because once activated not only moves when turning the head, also works in reverse and is activated if it is the hands that sway. Therefore, Eva Facial Mouse be functional with the smartphone mounted on a bracket.

To click on an item no gesture, you just have to stop the pointer at a particular point and wait a few tenths of a second. There are short and long press while in the case of a menu, this will be displayed. It would be very interesting that a new review be included as an alternative for a command similar to selfie voice applications.

essential Retouching

The basic operation is simple but very sharp, especially for people with special needs. Therefore, all users will have to go directly to the Settings menu of the application, which is accessed from Settings> Accessibility and not from the application button itself.

Allows customize its behavior. The speed of vertical and horizontal movement, which results in shorter or longer for the same distance gestures, the acceleration of the pointer and the threshold, ie, the framework that determines when a minimal gesture is natural and not an attempt to move the mouse.

Even more important from my experience is to calibrate the click. By default every 10 tenths of a second is activated (his scale) since it stops at one point, so fast that still does not allow you stop to think what to do next. But it may be delayed up to 5 seconds and increase the area of ​​proximity in which not activate a new click, ie, that neutral zone.

Floating Menu and keyboard navigation

After some testing with the EVA Facial Mouse and keyboard you realize that its use is not so simple, but it will be very useful. With a little patience has been possible to surf the Internet, send an email, create a contact in the phonebook and call, chat or by hangout see photos taken previously.

What works best is a combination of mouse and keyboard, because you’re gradually making way for a multitude of applications. All thanks to the floating menu, an extra box that the user can place in any of the four edges of the screen. It has three main buttons and other alternative Android to launch notifications, keyboard or disable the pointer.

A little more difficult to navigate within apps because they need or arrow cursors appearing in corners, which are not easy to access, or a few navigation buttons on the keypad itself that force give enough back and move rather slowly.

after all is an experiment which has just started. Free and open source. Your abilities increase when combined with other accessibility solutions, such as waking the phone with voice or launchers that simplify the user interface.

With patience and with someone who helps the recipient to the initial configuration EVA Facial Mouse is already a great help for all people with disabilities in the extremities. And still has much room for improvement.

Eva Facial Mouse

• Price: Free
• Distributor: Fundación Vodafone Spain
• Download: Google Play

–
The news EVA Facial Mouse, control your phone only with nods was originally published in Engadget Android by Sergio Figueroa.

Engadget Android