Head-Tracking Pointer

An application that, using an inexpensive camera, lets users control a mouse pointer by aiming their face around the screen.

Date Posted: August 23, 2005

Overview This technology has been retired.
About the technology author(s): Rick Kjeldsen is a research staff member at IBM's T. J. Watson Research Center. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1997; his M.S. from the University of Massachusetts in 1987; and his BSEE, With Great Distinction, from Clarkson University in 1981. Between stints at school, Dr. Kjeldsen has held various programming and research positions within IBM. He was a member of the Exploratory Computer Vision Group at Watson Research from 1987 through 2001, when he joined the Accessibility Research Group. He has published and filed patents on a wide variety of topics in artificial intelligence, computer vision, and perceptual user interfaces. He is the inventor of the TouchFree Switch, an inexpensive vision-based input device that allows users with limited physical mobility to trigger computer events. Dr. Kjeldsen's image-processing software was featured in the theatrical production Alladeen, which has just completed a world tour. He is the inventor of the user vision-based interaction system for the Everywhere Display, which allows interactive displays to be projected onto any surface. His current research is aimed at the application of human-centered computer vision to create practical, customizable user interfaces for both general and special-needs users.