Stacy Bibb is one of the many who suffers from cerebral palsy spastic quadriplegia. Despite this ailment, Stacy’s parents, Portia and Gary Bibb, wanted Stacy to retain some semblance of individualism and a greater quality of life. To make this possible, they began working with Jason Eldred, an Interaction Designer, to give Stacy the capability to control a computer using the part of the body he has the most control over, his tongue.

Design Iterations:

• Old Design: Retainer device with 9 contact points that went inside Stacy’s mouth

• Recent Design: Single contact point tongue activated capacitive touch device

  • Can click, type and browse a computer by making contact with the copper wire (sensor) for different durations (tap, short hold, long hold)

• While everything previously worked, there were issues with:

  • Headset comfort: makeshift plastic Halloween mask

  • Device movement and rotation: Two zip-tie attachment would rotate when pushed by tongue

  • Capacitive sensor reliability: Grabbing the wire causes capacitive interference and false positives