5 ms·

If I had one of them, I would totally be able to pretend I'm in the SAS on some secret mission!:D Obviously a mission that didn't involve any stairs, and nothin

If I had one of them, I would totally be able to pretend I'm in the SAS on some secret mission!:D Obviously a mission that didn't involve any stairs, and nothing above 6 miles an hour (top speed of my chair!) With lots of ramps and extrawide doors :-) Seriously though, I'm connected to this computer with a ton of cables and if that could be made to play nice with Dragon, and it wasn't too tight across where the break is in my neck it would be brilliant!

willvarfar 13y ago
Throat microphone + headphones makes it all effectively private from literal evesdroppers :)
robotmay 13y ago
If you're in the UK they can be picked up pretty cheaply from surplus stores, and no doubt online too. There must be some consumer-grade ones knocking about too which might be worth a shot if you're not sure if it'll work or not :)
- escapologybb 13y ago
  I've just ordered a USB version because Dragon requires really clear quality sound, and just plugging a 3.5 mm jack into the Line In port is and going to work because Dragon will only recognise USB devices. But fingers crossed this one will work!
willvarfar 13y ago
If you can't find one commercially, then its just to do an "ask HN" for anyone to help you acquire one or can make you one etc :)
gabriel34 13y ago
Throat mic available at DX.com and other Chinese online retailers last time I checked EDIT: You can even pick colors: http://dx.com/s/throat http://dx.com/s/throat
bigiain 13y ago
If you're already "wired up to the computer", would another USB connection make any difference? An Arduino can act as a keyboard ( http://hackaday.com/2012/06/29/turning-an-arduino-into-a-usb-keyboard/ http://hackaday.com/2012/06/29/turning-an-arduino-into-a-usb... ) You could then hook that into some controls you've already got on the chair - the obvious choice being to have "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" trigger the Arduino to type out your password. (Where are you from? I know if someone asked for help with this on my local (Sydney, Australia) hackerspace mailing list, there's probaby be three or four people building prototypes by the weekend…)
- escapologybb 13y ago
  Unfortunately adding another USB connection would make a difference, there is the cognitive load of just being tethered to my computer there are sometimes situations where I need to get out of my wheelchair quickly; so minimising connections is the order of the day. That being said this solution could be implemented wirelessly maybe? I mean have the arduino sitting somewhere connected to the laptop wirelessly, and then have a switch connected to the arduino wirelessly as well? The only sticking points I could see are that obviously I can't assemble these things myself, and travelling to a Hackerspace would be impossible unfortunately. Also, I'm in the UK.
  - bigiain 13y ago
    Hmmm. It's also possible to do the same "pretend to be a keyboard trick" over bluetooth - it's just a little more expensive than via Arduino/USB. It's about an extra $50-ish to add bluetooth capability to an Arduino (at least at sparkfun.com prices). I'm in Australia, so the UK is a bit far to be prototyping - did you see Helgosam's post else-thread? Sound's like he's at least in the same country as you and capable of helping out (and/or putting you in touch with other locals who're in this space…) https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Helgosam https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Helgosam https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6054049 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6054049
femto 13y ago
In a similar vein, emotiv [1] sell an EEG headset, which is purported to offer mind control. I've no clue whether these things actually work or what they are useful for. I'm only aware of this device because I used to work with one of the principals in the company. [1] http://www.emotiv.com/ http://www.emotiv.com/
- escapologybb 13y ago
  This looks like it would be massively useful, but it's really expensive at the moment which keeps it out of my hands unfortunately :-( It looks like it could be applied to all sorts of accessibility situations and problems though!

willvarfar 13y ago

Throat microphone + headphones makes it all effectively private from literal evesdroppers :)

robotmay 13y ago

If you're in the UK they can be picked up pretty cheaply from surplus stores, and no doubt online too. There must be some consumer-grade ones knocking about too which might be worth a shot if you're not sure if it'll work or not :)

escapologybb 13y ago
I've just ordered a USB version because Dragon requires really clear quality sound, and just plugging a 3.5 mm jack into the Line In port is and going to work because Dragon will only recognise USB devices. But fingers crossed this one will work!

willvarfar 13y ago

If you can't find one commercially, then its just to do an "ask HN" for anyone to help you acquire one or can make you one etc :)

gabriel34 13y ago

Throat mic available at DX.com and other Chinese online retailers last time I checked EDIT: You can even pick colors: http://dx.com/s/throat http://dx.com/s/throat

bigiain 13y ago

If you're already "wired up to the computer", would another USB connection make any difference? An Arduino can act as a keyboard ( http://hackaday.com/2012/06/29/turning-an-arduino-into-a-usb-keyboard/ http://hackaday.com/2012/06/29/turning-an-arduino-into-a-usb... ) You could then hook that into some controls you've already got on the chair - the obvious choice being to have "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" trigger the Arduino to type out your password. (Where are you from? I know if someone asked for help with this on my local (Sydney, Australia) hackerspace mailing list, there's probaby be three or four people building prototypes by the weekend…)

escapologybb 13y ago
Unfortunately adding another USB connection would make a difference, there is the cognitive load of just being tethered to my computer there are sometimes situations where I need to get out of my wheelchair quickly; so minimising connections is the order of the day. That being said this solution could be implemented wirelessly maybe? I mean have the arduino sitting somewhere connected to the laptop wirelessly, and then have a switch connected to the arduino wirelessly as well? The only sticking points I could see are that obviously I can't assemble these things myself, and travelling to a Hackerspace would be impossible unfortunately. Also, I'm in the UK.
- bigiain 13y ago
  Hmmm. It's also possible to do the same "pretend to be a keyboard trick" over bluetooth - it's just a little more expensive than via Arduino/USB. It's about an extra $50-ish to add bluetooth capability to an Arduino (at least at sparkfun.com prices). I'm in Australia, so the UK is a bit far to be prototyping - did you see Helgosam's post else-thread? Sound's like he's at least in the same country as you and capable of helping out (and/or putting you in touch with other locals who're in this space…) https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Helgosam https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Helgosam https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6054049 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6054049

femto 13y ago

In a similar vein, emotiv [1] sell an EEG headset, which is purported to offer mind control. I've no clue whether these things actually work or what they are useful for. I'm only aware of this device because I used to work with one of the principals in the company. [1] http://www.emotiv.com/ http://www.emotiv.com/

escapologybb 13y ago
This looks like it would be massively useful, but it's really expensive at the moment which keeps it out of my hands unfortunately :-( It looks like it could be applied to all sorts of accessibility situations and problems though!