While brain-computer interfaces make headlines, a startup is banking on a more accessible organ to help people with disabilities navigate their PC: language. With MouthPad, a sort of “pacifier covered with sensors”, Augmental promises to revolutionize the way we interact with computers. Discovery.
Tomás Vega, a journey marked by surpassing oneself
At the origin of this innovation, we find Tomás Vega, CEO and co-founder of Augmental. A stutterer since the age of 5, this MIT graduate engineer has always sought to adapt technology to push the limits of the human body.
After an internship at Neuralink, a specialist in brain-machine interfaces, Tomás Vega wondered: what if we could obtain similar results without resorting to expensive and complex brain implants?
The tongue, this unsuspected organ
It was by studying the functioning of the brain that the trigger occurred. “A large part of our brain is dedicated to controlling the position of the tongue,” explains Tomás Vega. Made up of 8 muscles and rich in slow-twitch muscle fibers, the tongue is a durable and precise organ.
Based on this observation, the engineer had the idea of exploiting all this potential to create MouthPad, a revolutionary interface allowing you to control a computer with simple tongue movements.
MouthPad, the mouse of the future is in your mouth
3D printed from biocompatible materials, MouthPad is presented as a tailor-made device to be placed in the mouth, halfway between a dental splint and a retainer stuffed with electronics.
Thanks to its ultrasensitive sensors, MouthPad allows you to:
Extensive customization options allow MouthPad to be adapted to the abilities of each user, taking advantage of other movements such as clenching teeth or moving the neck and head.
Towards total control through thought?
Augmental's ambition does not stop there. Ultimately, Tomás Vega hopes to gain FDA approval to expand MouthPad's capabilities to control robotic arms and wheelchairs. A giant step forward for people with motor disabilities.
By integrating the recognition of whispers and micro-movements of the speech organs, MouthPad could even offer new perspectives to patients suffering from speech disorders linked to poor lung function.
With its unique approach and its almost unlimited potential, MouthPad has everything to become the new standard in digital accessibility. Proof that when it comes to innovation, sometimes you just need to know how to stick your tongue out at the right time!
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