The world's first ever "voice mouse"—recently unveiled by an Israeli-American technology firm—is promising to change the way we interact with our computers. With the new hands-free navigation tool, we can command our PCs to open files and execute commands simply by speaking.

Intended to increase the accessibility of personal computers, the Commodio QPointer HandsFree lets users voice-navigate the Web and the entire Windows environment. Users can also write and send e-mail messages, and make and modify documents. Basically, the QPointer—which is powered by a Microsoft speech recognition engine and Commodio's proprietary technology—lets you "touch any object on a computer screen by voice, similarly to the way a person uses a mouse," says Commodio president Ramy Metzger.

By speaking the names of screen objects or toolbar buttons, you can direct the cursor to a particular spot on the screen. Then you can utter mouse commands such as "double-click" or "right-click" to open files or to access short-cut menus.

The QPointer is expected to be especially beneficial for individuals who have difficulty moving their arms or hands. Such persons comprise a growing market that Commodio wants to cater to, says chief technology officer Leonid Brailovsky. "We found that there exists an accessibility gap," he says. "New populations, such as disabled and senior people, are entering the circle of computer users, and there are no adequate means for them to access the computer."

"It is difficult or impossible for them to use the standard pointing devices, like mouse, touch pad or trackball," continues Brailovsky. "These problems become even more severe with the development of new computing environments—like mobile environments."

Enter the QPointer. According to Brailovsky, disabled persons have been receptive to the new technology because it "gives a simple and intuitive solution to the problem of computer access for these populations."

The QPointer won't slow down computer use either because voice commands are executed nearly as speedily as finger-directed points and clicks. "It takes almost the same time to point by voice mouse or by hand, even for a nondisabled person," says Brailovsky. "A person having hand motion impairments, repetitive strain injury or poor vision will have a clear advantage."

In fact, Microsoft has been working on assistive technologies for more than 10 years, says Gary Moulton, manager of assistive technology vendor relations for the Microsoft Accessible Technologies Group. "The QPointer HandsFree is a key example of a technology that will empower people with disabilities to realize their full potential," he says.

Source: Voice Mouse Turns Silent Computer Screens into ‘Talkies'
Mike Martin
NewsFactor Network, Nov. 19, 2002
http://sci.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20022.html