If you are suffering from mobility impairment, i.e. you lack the strength to grasps or lift objects, a touch screen device may prevent you to use your smart device properly. There are a few devices on the market that can handle the computing power required by an eye-tracking software, but those devices can be a bit expensive. So it may seem that there are no good ways for mobility impaired person to interact with an Android device. Hopefully, there is a company that has be working for a solution. Spanish Vodafone Foundation developed an app that uses your devices’ front camera to track your face’s movement and allows you to control a cursor on the screen. You can tap, long press and even navigate entire UI without lifting a finger. Here’s how to control android with your head.
How to control Android with your head?
Start by installing EVA Facial Mouse. It is available for free on the Google Play Store. After that’s been taken care of; open the app and grant permission to enable the Accessibility plugin. After you tap OK, you will be taken to a settings menu. There, select EVA Facial Mouse and toggle the switch located at the top of the screen. Press OK if any pop up appears. If you are running Marshmallow or higher, you will be asked additional permission; grant them all.
Now, you have to change the default system keyboard. When you’re on the setup wizard, tap next till you reach the keyboard screen. Tap on the Settings button in the middle. Now, you will be taken to the device’s Settings. There, select “Language & input”. The path may differ from models to models but you will get there. After you’ve found you way into the “Manage keyboards” section, choose EVA Keyboard. If you get ay pop-ups, just tap OK. After you’ve done that, go back a step and change “Current keyboard” to EVA Keyboard from the list.
You now need to calibrate the tracker. Head back to the setup wizard. The app will detect your face. You will see a small view-finder on top of your screen. Try to place your face at the center of the view finder. You’re ready to go after the app say “Face Detected”. Tap on Next and a cursor will appear on the screen which follows your head’s movement. If you think the cursor is going too fast or too slow, you can adjust it.
After everything’s’ been set up; you will find that using your device with head tracking is easy. You can perform navigations without breaking a sweat. Try this app; I know you won’t be disappointed.
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