The SCATIR switch uses an optical sensor that can be attached to a glasses frame or a gooseneck mount.
Most switches are fairly simple devices, usually consisting of a button requiring only a very light touch. For persons challenged with fine-motor control, there are paddles and joysticks, which can be operated by moving an arm or a leg. Others, moreover, lack even gross-motor control. Enter the SCATIR switch, which requires only eye blinking or facial muscle movement (such as blinking). The SCATIR switch is activated by a motion sensor that can be placed on a frame for a pair of glasses or a gooseneck mount.
It was through a device such as the Scatir switch that Stephen Hawking shared his genius to the world.
SCATIR is shorthand for Self-Calibrating Auditory Tone Infrared. According to the manufacturer, Ablenet (formerly Tash), the SCATIR switch “is a momentary-contact optical switch with auditory feedback that works by detecting a beam of reflected pulsed infrared light. The SCATIR switch can be controlled with an eye blink, eyebrow movement, finger movement, head movement, and facial muscle movement.” More specifically, the controlling body part need not to be in direct physical contact with the switch sensor. Because the switch uses optics, it can be activated at a distance. The SCATIR switch runs off a rechargeable nickel metal hydroxide battery.
New Jersey residents can try out the SCATIR switch on a free loan through our Technology Lending Center. We have used two other optical switches that operate via eye movement: the Eye Gaze and Eye Tracker 4C, both from Tobii, along with the NuEye, from Prentke-Romich.
