Adaptable virtual keyboard and mouse for people with special needs

Assistive technologies are helping people without speech or functional writing to communicate through alternative methods and devices. The area of study that covers these technologies is called alternative communication. The goal of this paper is to present a new solution that allows people with special needs to use all the features of the keyboard and mouse via sensors connected to a user's body part in which it maintains motor control. The application developed constitutes a keyboard and mouse emulator, configurable and adaptable, which was named ETM (Emulator Keyboard and Mouse). The software captures trigger's signals connected to the USB (Universal Serial Bus), through the adaptation of the contacts of the buttons of a joystick. By means of a command processor and a key layout tailored to user needs, it sends keyboard and mouse commands for any Windows application. Tests conducted with cerebral palsy in the project participants schools and volunteers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, have shown satisfactory results. With the adaptation of sensors and programs developed, it optimized communication and user learning, minimized motor limitations due to neurological diseases, and it has expanded his accessibility and digital and social inclusion.