Hands-free interface for seamless pointing between physical and virtual objects

To support natural communication by bedridden persons with upper limb disabilities, we propose a hands-free pointing system that enables seamless indication of physical and virtual objects. An “air-pillow interface,” developed by the authors, measures head motions to control a cursor on a PC display and the direction of a laser pointer on a pan-tilt actuator near the user´s head. The user moves the cursor with the head motion interface, and when the cursor reaches the end of the display, the laser pointer continues tracking head movements in the real world. We experimentally confirm the validity of the proposed method and evaluate the operating performance by throughput values with regard to pointing ability. We also investigate angular head displacement to confirm the advantage of the proposed method over the conventional technology.