SectionPage Special Needs hands-free writing

Special Needs

Dasher is highly appropriate for computer users who are unable to use a two-handed keyboard. One-handed users and users with no hands love Dasher. The only ability that is required is sight.

Dasher can be driven using a mouse, a trackpad, a touchscreen, a rollerball, or a joystick - any two-dimensional pointing device that can take over the role of a mouse. A foot mouse and a head mouse are additional options.

It can also be driven using an gazetracker, giving a completely-hands-free writing system. After one hour's practice, some users are able to write at more than 20 words per minute using Dasher with an gazetracker. Experienced users reach 30 words per minute. We got these results with the Quick Glance gazetracker from EyeTech Digital Systems.

For a movie demonstrating Dasher with an gazetracker, see the demonstration page.

Compared to an gazetracker + on-screen keyboard, Dasher is

Further information

Headmouse information

UK contacts

The Dasher project enjoys links with the ACE Centre in Oxford, and with Ability Net. Ability Net has 11 centres around the country who can help disabled people use whatever technology is appropriate for them, including Dasher. The ACE centre specializes in children with severe disabilities.

Frequent questions

I am paralyzed from the shoulders down. What do I need to make Dasher work for me?
Do you have a PC? (Linux or Windows) Can you use a head-mouse? Or any other sort of mouse? Perhaps a mouth-stick that controls the mouse coordinates? If so, simply download the latest version of Dasher, and you should be able to write with Dasher.
If standard mice and head-mice are not an option, then you'll need an gazetracker that can take over control of the mouse.
We used a system from Eyetech called Quickglance. See below for links to other gaze-trackers.

Hardware options

Here are some links giving information about non-standard mouse devices.

Speech synthesis and Dasher (under Linux)

Skipper (http://home.freeuk.net/skipperproject) is being integrated with Dasher. [Skipper provides full (and practical) access to everything in Linux and the Internet for people with severe physical disabilities.]

Speech synthesis (under Windows)

Mon 2/5/05 Today I learnt about a system that can be used to capture someone's speech, then synthesize speech that sounds like theirs: ModelTalker seems to be free software, and I believe there are versions for both Linux and Windows.

Speech synthesis and Dasher (under Windows)

Thu 12/12/02: Ronnie Love's directions for getting Dasher to "talk on stop" with a variety of speaking systems.

Tue 1/10/02: cliffn has written a front end for dasher v1.6.8 in VB5 which allows to run Dasher, allows one click to save the text into a file, and allows the file to be read aloud. With a shortcut to the text file on your desktop it is easy to edit and copy and paste to another app.
Tested only on Win 2000 but available for download with a right click on the file name (StartDasherFS.exe) from: www.datasolutions.co.nz/Download; this exe file should be put in the dasher folder alongside dasher.exe.

This text file gives Margaret Cotts's instructions for using Macro Express to connect Dasher 1.6.8 to etriloquist, and further information submitted by other users.

This text file gives information from R. Love about making Dasher talk.

In due course, one of the Dasher developers plans to connect Dasher version 3 directly to FreeTTS.

Web-browsing and Dasher

We haven't connected Dasher to a web-browser yet. Andras Lorincz drew our attention to Coraler (formerly www.coraler.com), which offers a nice Dasher-like hypertext navigation environment. A beautiful prototype. I think the idea is that websites should be written in the style of Coraler to make them more disabled-friendly.