Testimonials

Emails and Postings about Camera Mouse

(Your comments and stories MOST welcome. Please send to gips@bc.edu)

a valuable resource, not just for education but also for communication, enabling children with severe special needs to communicate, in some cases for the first time, with others and with their peers.
-- Minister for Education of Northern Ireland

I am extremely grateful to you and your team for release Camera Mouse for free use. Together with a spare computer and web cam I had lying around, it's given a young man who recently lost the use of his arms a way to start interacting with the world again.
-- United States

Camera Mouse is truly wonderful and the fact that there are no costs involved is hugely beneficial to so many.
-- South Africa

c'est fait : le logiciel Camera Mouse, conçu pour les personnes en situation de handicap, et permettant le déplacement du curseur sur PC, (+fonctions clics), par les mouvements de la tête face à une web-cam, sans gommette ni diodes leds portées au front est désormais en libre téléchargement.
-- Posted at Association des Paralyses de France

I talked to you several years ago as you were developing camera mouse.  I have had 2008 on my computer for a while now and just downloaded 2010.  I’ve only tried it briefly, but it seems to function much better.  I so very much appreciate your work and your dedication to developing this program.
-- United States

in many cases Camera Mouse has proved to be a powerful tool for improving access to computers and thus to the curriculum. Feedback from teachers continues to be positive and reported benefits include increases in concentration span, self-confidence and posture as well as examples of children being enabled to demonstrate their capabilities more easily and more effectively. Assistive technology has an important role in opening up the world for people with disabilities. Camera Mouse is making a valuable contribution to this.
-- Northern Ireland

I’d like to thank You for your online support and free software of camera mouse. I use it with a simple game editor wich use any simple collision event to generate sound and explanations for child otherwise able, using also Bliss and ACC communications images which I insert in game editor panel. Thanks to help people to communicate freely without constraints, and very low cost. I will use your software and all Your team names to submit my next graduation thesis to University of Torino (Italy). A simple math teacher
-- Italy

ya lo probé, está super bueno!!! me gustó
-- Posted at taringa.net

I just absolutely love your Camera Mouse program
-- United States

Camera Mouse has given her a way to communicate her thoughts, it gives the school that she is attending a way to adapt the curriculum so that she can participate in a REGULAR preschool, it puts her in a situation where people can see her ABILITIES rather than her disabilities. When she uses the Camera Mouse, she is alert, attentive and responsive. She controls the mouse with her chin and plays with educational software.
-- Mother of young child using Camera Mouse in United States

I would like to thank you so much for your effort and your work. This has set free many of my clients as well as my brother, who has cerebral palsy. In the past I had created interfaces with AAC systems, but the biggest issue was always the selection, especially for people with severe motor disabilities, such as cerebral palsy. We were only able to use 'mountain switches', that were attached to computer through USB ports, and as a result, we did not have the ability to make things portable. On top of that, companies were overselling products like these and people in Greece did not have the access to many.

Many thanks for your work. It is what we have been searching for years
-- Greece and United Kingdom

I am so excited to have recently found your website. Thank you so much for the free downloads of camera mouse, midas touch, staggered speech, and the aliens and paint games.

I am an occupational therapist working at a special school for disabled children in Cape Town, South Africa. Many of our learners come from poor socio-economic circumstances, and we do not currently have all the resources which we require (such as an AAC center with adaptive computer technology). This programme will be of great benefit to several of the severely disabled learners who I work with.
-- South Africa

There is also a completely free head-tracker solution if you already own a Web-cam. Many laptops already have a built in Webcam. It is called a camera mouse... It tracks a unique feature on your face such as the bridge of your nose etc. This works quite well and doesn't require much processing power.
-- Posted at abilitynet

que bueno para la gente con problemas motrices, y que bueno que sea gratis... el que hizo este programa es un capo
-- Posted at taringa.net

Good morning! ... I am an SLP in Texas and was forwarded your software by a colleague of mine as I work quite a bit w/ patients requiring head control of a mouse to access their computers following TBI or spinal cord injury. … thank you for your contribution to this community.
-- United States

The school and its pupils are absolutely delighted with the Camera Mouse.
-- Ireland

I am faculty member of Chamran university, Ahvaz, Iran. I was tested CameraMouse software and really surprised by its convenience, usability, and accuracy. I found nose as the best feature to track after some some tests and auto configuration works fine for me.
-- Iran

Fascinating! And just the right price.
-- United States

I have found your fantastic program … I am nearing 50 and i have found out that i have a degenerative condition that will eventually render my arms useless. I already have a degree of lack of movement in my right arm, shoulder, through to my elbow which also incorporates my ability to grip tightly with my right hand. I am right handed so this is a real pain in the 6, as well as my condition giving me great pain in movement. I do not take analgesics, I try and keep surfing and swimming and try to keep moving the parts as much as possible. What I am finding is that the program works very well, I am using my daughter's ASUS lap top with built in camera.

I thank you and your team for your outstanding work in this area.
-- Australia

Hi, I just wanted to tell you how great the camera mouse software is.
-- Norway

Another student, Patrick, was not able to participate in much, if any, of the physical activities that went on at the school. He was able to use the Camera Mouse to play Football and other activities on the computer. The more able-bodied students were standing by the door watching Patrick and felt left out. They all wanted a try. At the end of the week, I gave out Eagle pins to the students selected to help out with the program. At a goodbye ceremony, when Patrick received his pin, he said it was the proudest day of his life.
-- Ireland

Thank you for your excellent program - Camera Mouse. It has helped me a lot.
-- Czech Republic

Many congratulations on the way you and your colleagues have developed Camera Mouse and made it available.  I am astonished at how simple it was to download and hook up to my old USB webcam.  It is very very good. 

Some of the people here have little or no use of their arms but can move their heads and would like to do more with a computer.  Your software is great for them, its especially important to be easy to setup (which it is), because there is not always a computer expert around to get it started.

Please keep up the good work you are doing.
-- United Kingdom

thank you for the invention of the camera mouse.
-- Malaysia

Con este software se puede mover el cursor sin necesidad de manos ni mouse, solo con tu cabeza y una camara web, quizas no sea lo mismo, pero puede habilitar a una persona con discapacidad a utilizar la pc. Además el software es totalmente gratuito, sólo tienen que descargarlo e instalarlo. La configuración es facilísima.
-- Posted at taringa.net

Congratulations for creating such a wonderful tool. I stumbled across it while researching options for my Dad who has severe MS and has lost most of his movement below his neck... Thanks for developing and distributing such a liberating piece of software.
-- United Kingdom

Thanks to your work, you guys are making a huge difference in my life and I'll be forever grateful!
-- Australia

One of our staff, who has cerebral palsy, has already had a try at the programme. We are very keen to try it on other young people at our institute and we are sure it is going to make life easier for many of them... Many many thanks.
-- India

My mother has the ALS disease. She ... has been using Camera Mouse (along with Point'n Click and Click'n type) successfully for several months now... Many thanks for the work you're doing which has tremendously impacted the quality of life of my mother and certainly many others.
-- France

please do a mac version
-- United States

I wish to congratulate you on this software! It is brilliant and helps a lot of people! You’re saints!
-- The Netherlands

As a speech language pathologist, specializing in augmentative communication and assistive technology, I had my first experience with the Camera Mouse yesterday and absolutely LOVE it! Though I typically recommend eye gaze technology with my ALS population, your product will serve an enormous role in our effort to bridge the gap when a person is waiting to receive an eye gaze product and when funding for such technology is not available. Also, I have begun to work with the pediatric population and look forward to introducing several little ones, with no functional hand use, to the computer! I am particularly thrilled about the doors this will open in the third world countries. I can envision using the mini-laptops with the built-in webcam and free onscreen keyboard/word prediction or AAC software to provide a communication solution for under $300. This is simply AMAZING!

From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for developing such an empowering product! Many, many people will have dignity and quality of life as a result of your efforts!!!
-- United States

I have been using your software for a while, it is great. My hand and wrist used to hurt from using the mouse too much, but it has stopped after I started using camera mouse. I love it.
-- Australia

esta buenissimo !!!
-- posted at VirtualRosario.com

Thank you for the wonderful program Camera Mouse.
-- Sweden

I have just come across your camera mouse software.  Absolutely fantastic - such simplicity such brilliance.  I work in health and have been trying to find ways were we can control computers without the use of hands (you know gloves and all that sort of stuff).  This I think is going to be perfect.  Well done mate!!! 
-- Australia

I would like to congratulate you on the great software.
-- India

Thanks again for your work on this software. It is a great service that you are providing. Good reinforcement for why a strong university system is so important.
-- United States

I am currently a PhD student. I downloaded your amazing product Camera Mouse and love it so much! It is a surprisingly good and a quite useful innovation!
-- Singapore

I have been trying your Camera Mouse software for just a couple of hours now and REALLY like it... Thanks for a nice piece of software.
-- Canada

This monday night I started playing with the xxx I bought for $370. Couldn’t configure it to work well for 2 days and returned it. Bought a Lifecam Cinema and tried your software out just for the heck of it. I wasn’t expecting much, really. I was AMAZED how well cameramouse worked, and it's free. Unbelievable!! Not trying to bash xxx maybe I configured it all wrong, but your software is totally cool!

I am a software engineer in Seattle. I have some RSI from typing and mousing. Cameramouse is a good way for me to rest my hands while doing computing at home.
-- United States

Firstly I'd like to say what an amazing piece of software Camera Mouse is, it's such a fine example of how software can change lives for the better. It really is so rare to see a piece of software that has so much obvious benefit to so many who really need it! I've sent the link to your software to a friend of mine who sadly lost an arm to cancer, I'm sure he will find it very helpful.

Congratulations on creating such a fantastic piece of software that has improved the lives of those with disabilities, there really aren't many nobler aims and releasing it as a free download is such a truly great and selfless contribution to humanity.
-- United Kingdom

I just wanted to say you are doing an amazing thing with the cameramouse. I'm sure you've been told many times before but I wanted to tell you anyway. Keep up the great work. I tried the software and its amazing. You are doing a great service for many people.
-- New Zealand

I am in the backwoods, where cool technology like yours isn't readily available. I am so glad I found your website. I really think the camera mouse will be a good start to my student learning to use his Dynavox in a functional manner. Right now, his response times are so slow with direct select that the other middle school students are long gone before he answers them

I am so grateful for the work you've done and making software like this available for students with disabilities!
-- United States

As a sufferer from multiple sclerosis, I'd like to add my thanks to you for developing and releasing such an amazing piece of software! I've only been using it for a few days, and it is remarkably easy and intuitive to use... It's so refreshing to find somebody who will help people for no reward, and Camera Mouse has the potential to help A LOT of people. After only a short time I already find using the track pad on my computer clumsy in comparison...

PS the best fun you can have with Camera Mouse? Convince your friends you are moving the cursor with the power of your mind!
-- United Kingdom

hey mates!! what an excellent piece of program u wrote there!!! thanx alot!! im definitely gonna give it to this school for special children here in lahore so they can actually start teaching practical computing to those children!! May God bless you guys!!
-- Pakistan

Last week I downloaded the program-what a great thing! I have MS, which
reduces the sensitivity & strength of my hands & arms-making it very
difficult to use a standard mouse.
-- United States

We use Camera Mouse for face tracking with JayBee (http://www.jaybee.org.uk). It works very well as long as the WebCam used is a high resolution device. The Microsoft LifeCam Cinema at around £50 from PC world is a good choice!
-- posted on Google AAC Forum

I think what you do is wonderful.
-- Germany

With adequate training, the Voice Recognition that comes with the Microsoft Office Suite is usable. I like to set it up with CameraMouse and a chat bot and then I just talk to my computer. It's my only friend. :(

Dude that's the saddest thing I have read today.
-- Posted comment and response on reddit.com

It is wonderful that this is free and it works!!! This will help so many people. Now with the price of laptops and netbooks so low... they can get a new laptop and use your program and they are on their way. Keep up the good work. Thanks sooooo much.
-- United States

I found out about your free camera mouse software via BBC website. This is terrific! Great job! Even though I am blessed with all four limbs, I was able to appreciate the technical brilliance since I am an ex-techie myself.
-- India

Thanks a million for making this software available. I am going to be building a custom interface to help one of my close friends who has suffered from a brain aneurism. Your software will enable her to communicate with her husband and children

May you be blessed with good fortune. Thanks again for your generosity.
-- United States

Thank you so much for Camera Mouse. Having ALS and not being able to move my arms, Camera Mouse has changed my life.

Here is my setup: Camera Mouse with a Microsoft Live Cam is used for large mouse movements. Dragon Naturally Speaking is used for most of the typing. Click-N-Type by Lake Software is used for very specific words such as e-mail addresses and passwords. For e-mail I use Mozilla Thunderbird. For browsing I use Internet Explorer.

This is humor -- my son, also a programmer, suggested that since I put the little green box on my nose that it should be a red circle. He said it would be appropriate since I am always clowning around!

I use camera mouse from eight in the morning until about nine at night -- it is really a lifesaver!
-- United States

Camera Mouse is amazing free software which enables the mouse cursor to be controlled using a standard webcam.

It is very easy to setup and easily a match for much more expensive assistive technology.
-- posted at senteacher.org

I want to thank you and let you know what a great help you have been! You have changed a young man's life overnight!

We downloaded the camera mouse program and all the games. Within 15 minutes of downloading the programs and figuring out how to turn on the "clicking," he was joyfully killing aliens, painting, spelling and then exploring other game programs on his brother's computer! It was amazing! He wrote out his name too [for the first time ever]. He was having so much fun and enjoying himself. He asked that I send you a photo of him. I took a photo of him playing aliens. I will send it separately.

He was just diagnosed with major depression and did not want to get out of bed yesterday! He played on the computer for almost 4 hours yesterday afternoon and continued after I departed. What a transformation!

The experience gave him and his mom some real hope after months of ER visits, wheel chair issues, insurance, school and nanny problems.

We hope that the school will work with him using the camera mouse. In any case, a new world has been opened to him and I hope he sees a future for himself.

Thank you and Boston College on behalf of the family. They would like to meet you if you are passing through.

Thank you for your many kindnesses.
-- United States

I am a 32 year-old Melbournian, from Australia! I'm the oldest of four children and an aunty of two gorgeous boys Declan and Quinn and a baby girl Eve! They are my life and I believe as their Aunty it's my job to spoil them rotten!

I was born with severe Athetoid Cerebral Palsy which is a physical disability, but intellectually I'm like any other 32 year-old. I went to both a mainstream primary and secondary schools. In 1997 I completed my VCE and three years later I completed my Diploma in Arts of Professional Writing and Editing.

Due to my disability I’m unable to verbally speak so I communicate by using my computers. Actually people say I talk more than some verbal people! When I'm out 'n about I use a laptop which has voice output so I do have a voice. After years of having an American voice which was quite horrible to think of it, I found an Aussie voice!!

Until 2008 I was using my laptop and desktop computers with a program called E Z Keys from Words+ via a headswitch. This was very slow and fatiguing and I just had enough of feeling like rubbish from typing all the time. After trialling an eyegaze system and experiencing no headaches and fatigue, I began my hunt for a better way to type.

After months of searching I looked up at my webcam, wondering.

One day after continuing to search for about a year, I discovered a FREE program called Camera Mouse. This program with the onscreen keyboard program called Grid Keys have changed my life! The Camera Mouse program lets you move the mouse cusor with head movements, so I select the key by moving my head and dwelling on it. I still use E Z Keys especially on my laptop, (unfortunately the screen isn't big enough to accommodate all these programs, plus taking a webcam out 'n about isn't really practical) but I'm so thankful to the guys who developed Camera Mouse. It's awesome!

Since finishing my Diploma I've had articles and poetry published in several magazines and newspapers. In March 2008 I was accepted by Orble to start my own music blog. These days I review and sometimes interview mostly artists and bands who aren't well-known, giving them some free publicity. I'm really enjoying it as I had always wanted to be a music journalist!
-- Australia

Camera Mouse is so elegant and simple!  I hope that millions learn about the program. It should be used worldwide!
-- United States