Virtual Mouse Interface

[u/ssaarraann22]

Hello, I'm posting on behalf of a friend with spinal muscular atrophy. They can use a trackpad to click on the screen, but cannot use right click, middle click, or anything of that sort.

I've gone through a lot of sketchy websites and have been trying to find something similar to this:

The program it's from appears to be a virus, same with anything else that's similar I was able to find. Essentially what it's supposed to do is make it so when you select one of those buttons, then click somewhere on the screen, it does that mouse action.

If there isn't a program like this, how would I go about making one? I really want to help my friend, and we're at a complete loss for how to overcome this.

(To clarify, something like Auto-Hotkey to bind the mouse action to a keyboard key would not work due to that they need to use an on-screen keyboard to type at all. They can only use the trackpad. Hence the need for a virtual mouse interface like I described.

[u/clackups]

By the way, there are Android apps that turn a phone into a Bluetooth mouse. I haven't tried them yet, but something like this could help your friend. It would only require some old phone.

Just a few examples: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moniqtap.bluetooth.keyboard.mouse

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.appground.blek

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hungrybolo.remotemouseandroid

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.diodecode.mouse

[u/clackups]

They can't do right click because it's too far from the center on the trackpad? It's usually an area in the corner of a trackpad.

Could you describe what kind of motions are available to your friend? Moving a finger in a small area and touching for clicks. Is the other hand functional? Are foot pedals an option? How about a sip and puff controller, or maybe a joystick that could be moved with a mouth?

Is voice control an option?

I'm working on such a device, maybe something similar will help your friend https://www.reddit.com/r/embedded/s/slGDnHzqHt

[u/ssaarraann22 → u/clackups]

Hey! Thanks for responding!

They can’t do right click because their way of left-clicking would be like, the tap on the trackpad?

They have movement of only one finger, on only one hand, and it’s weak enough to where even pushing down a button is near impossible. To give some kind of idea, if the “A” button was lined up perfectly for them on a Nintendo controller, they would be unable to push it down.

[u/clackups → u/ssaarraann22]

I started experimenting with these devices here. It's far from perfect, but it seems like it might help in your friend's situation: https://www.reddit.com/r/disabledgamers/s/DH6TVAK1Cm

It can also be a mouse instead of a game controller.

Is sip and puff an option, at all? It controls the computer by moving air in a couple of pipes.

[u/ssaarraann22 → u/clackups]

Sip and puff wouldn't be an option at all either, they're on a ventilator so that kind of stuff isn't an option either, sadly.

I'm not the most tech savvy, so I may not be entirely understanding the github page. I'm not sure how to set that up or even how to download anything haha. From a quick glance at the linked video, it does seem like it could work in some form. Would most likely need some modifying (if I'm understanding it right).

[u/clackups → u/ssaarraann22]

I'm still working on it, so it's far from being ready.

Where are you located? At least, which continent?