Might I suggest an accellerometer package such as a 3 axis Crossbow.  It
is small and light and costs about US$300.  The user could swirl his/her
head to turn pages foreware and backward.  Various nods could also be
decoded.  I think it could be very intuitive.
Check out www.xbow.com product CXL04M3.

Just my $.02, Sherpa Doug

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alan B. Pearce [mailto:A.B.Pearce@RL.AC.UK]
> Sent: Friday, August 10, 2001 8:59 AM
> To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: Re: [EE]: Video Camera as head position indicator - ideas
> sought
>
>
> >It occurred to me that the availability of low cost video cameras in
> various
> >forms (serial port, parallel, USB, separate video ...) should allow a
> >reasonably low cost solution where the camera monitored a target and
> >detected head orientation. This could still include a head
> mounted target
> or
> >source but this could be more discrete and if active it
> could be infrared
> >and pulsed. While this sounds eminently achievable there would almost
> >certainly prove to be "more to it" than meets the eye at
> this stage. Such a
> >system is notionally more expensive in material cost than a
> headpointer /
> >beam system but would be more flexible, more easily adapted
> to related uses
> >and less user intrusive.
>
> Using a webcam type device looking over the top of the book
> at the person,
> how would the following work out?
>
> If the person is dark haired this may be easier, but with using IR
> sensitivity could possibly work with anyone - sense the area
> and position of
> the face e.g. look towards ceiling (or straight at camera) as
> you suggested
> to "start command" and then rock head to one side or the
> other to turn page
> in same direction as head rock. Sense head position by light
> area of face.
>
> If the person has reasonable limb mobility it may be possible
> to provide
> additional commands by moving left or right arm after using
> head movement
> "start command". Sense it is an arm by long thin object
> instead of round
> blob object you would use for face. By seeing if there is a
> line on the left
> or right side of the image you may get more commands. If you
> can distinguish
> between low lifted arm and high lifted arm you could have two
> commands per
> arm.
>
> Doing it this way the person would not need to have any
> headgear at all, let
> alone be connected to anything.
>
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