Development of a 3D pointing voice interface using a three-axis microphone array

A mouse or keyboard is widely used as an input device for operating computers. However, because these devices are hand controlled, handicapped people who can hardly move their hands are unable to operate computers. In this study, we propose a novel interface that controls the cursor on a screen with a 3-dimensional voice pointing device. This pointing device can estimate the 3D position of the user´s mouth while the user makes an utterance. The user can control the cursor by moving the mouth and making an utterance near a vertical surface. In addition, we implement a zoom function of the screen so that users can adjust the cursor position when they want the cursor to point at a small button or icon. Users can control the zoom function by moving the head forwards or backwards. We confirmed the effectiveness of the zoom function experimentally.