Comparison of Three Head-Controlled Mouse Emulators in Three Light Conditions

Three infrared head-controlled mouse emulators (HeadMouse Extreme™1, Tracker Pro™2 and Tracker Inside™3) were paired with an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device (Pathfinder™4) and tested for speed and accuracy in three different light conditions. Eleven participants tested the systems, entering a list of common statements used by AAC users. The Language Activity Monitor™5 (LAM) recorded all selections made. The data were analyzed for error rate and selection rate. The results revealed that (a) in a single light condition, the different mouse emulators performed significantly differently from each other, (b) in general, a single mouse emulator performed consistently across all light conditions, and (c) the external mouse emulators performed better than the internal emulator, for speed and accuracy, in all light conditions.