Hands free in 2023: there's got to be a better way
February 13, 2023 1:01 PM Subscribe
Folks who use assistive technology to remain as hands-free as possible: which devices and apps are you using to create documents, browse the web, read books, or simply navigate through options on your device using its native UI... ?
My upper body is in sad shape thanks to years of poor posture, cube monkeyism, and continued heavy use of laptop and phone. I'll be getting physical therapy and starting Feldenkrais soon, but I really would like to start saving my poor abused hands and arms for better things.
I would like to use voice commands to create AND edit documents, browse the web, check email, read books on apps like Scribd and Libby, navigate as painlessly as possible between apps on a mobile device or on a laptop.
I have a Windows 11 laptop and I just tried Voice Access, which is slow and buggy. And my Android devices are both older and don't have good voice command interaction.
If your needs are anything like mine, which devices and voice command apps are you using?
(Yes, I have a standing desk, and I use it frequently. It's the heavy use of hands and arms for keyboarding, mousing, swiping, and the garbage posture those activities tend to create, that are the problem. I hate "ergonomic" keyboards and those upright mouses are pretty awful for people with tendonitis in my experience.)
My upper body is in sad shape thanks to years of poor posture, cube monkeyism, and continued heavy use of laptop and phone. I'll be getting physical therapy and starting Feldenkrais soon, but I really would like to start saving my poor abused hands and arms for better things.
I would like to use voice commands to create AND edit documents, browse the web, check email, read books on apps like Scribd and Libby, navigate as painlessly as possible between apps on a mobile device or on a laptop.
I have a Windows 11 laptop and I just tried Voice Access, which is slow and buggy. And my Android devices are both older and don't have good voice command interaction.
If your needs are anything like mine, which devices and voice command apps are you using?
(Yes, I have a standing desk, and I use it frequently. It's the heavy use of hands and arms for keyboarding, mousing, swiping, and the garbage posture those activities tend to create, that are the problem. I hate "ergonomic" keyboards and those upright mouses are pretty awful for people with tendonitis in my experience.)
Due to pretty severe RSI, I do most of my computing hands free, via voice control and eye tracking and a few other devices. However I don't really use voice dictation on my phone, and I'm on iOS, so I'm afraid I can't really help you with Android.
But for computer use, I highly recommend a free as in beer software called Talon. I've recommended this several times on the green before, so I'll try to keep it brief this time. I have found Talon to be the best combination of flexible, accurate, and just generally staying out of your way. Configuring it does require a certain amount of technical patience. But the community on Slack can be helpful, if you try it and get stuck and are not a programmer, definitely reach out to folks there.
The only other dictation software I regularly use that I think is worth bothering with is LipSurf. It uses Google's voice recognition I think, and for general prose dictation it's a little bit better than Talon, and supports other languages than English (altho Talon also can be hooked up to the same API, in practice it's a bit slow)
On the hardware side, I use a Tobii eye tracker ($200 gaming device) in conjunction with Talon which turns it into a general mouse control device via eye movement and head tracking. For some mouse based gaming I use a cheap gyro remote as a head mouse (not this specific device but a similar one, shop for "presentation air mouse" and look for a USB rechargeable one which will be lighter weight than AAA battery powered) along with foot pedals. This can be a cheaper option for non-gaming general mouse control than an eye tracker, but beware of neck strain. Generally, if you start using dictation be careful with your voice and take it slowly, and maybe look up the "straw exercise" for warming up your voice. Perhaps obviou
Good luck, and feel free to message me if you have questions or get stuck with Talon.
posted by okonomichiyaki at 9:35 AM on February 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
But for computer use, I highly recommend a free as in beer software called Talon. I've recommended this several times on the green before, so I'll try to keep it brief this time. I have found Talon to be the best combination of flexible, accurate, and just generally staying out of your way. Configuring it does require a certain amount of technical patience. But the community on Slack can be helpful, if you try it and get stuck and are not a programmer, definitely reach out to folks there.
The only other dictation software I regularly use that I think is worth bothering with is LipSurf. It uses Google's voice recognition I think, and for general prose dictation it's a little bit better than Talon, and supports other languages than English (altho Talon also can be hooked up to the same API, in practice it's a bit slow)
On the hardware side, I use a Tobii eye tracker ($200 gaming device) in conjunction with Talon which turns it into a general mouse control device via eye movement and head tracking. For some mouse based gaming I use a cheap gyro remote as a head mouse (not this specific device but a similar one, shop for "presentation air mouse" and look for a USB rechargeable one which will be lighter weight than AAA battery powered) along with foot pedals. This can be a cheaper option for non-gaming general mouse control than an eye tracker, but beware of neck strain. Generally, if you start using dictation be careful with your voice and take it slowly, and maybe look up the "straw exercise" for warming up your voice. Perhaps obviou
Good luck, and feel free to message me if you have questions or get stuck with Talon.
posted by okonomichiyaki at 9:35 AM on February 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
That last sentence got cut off, what I meant to say was: it's perhaps obvious to other people that heavy use of voice dictation might cause voice strain, however it was not obvious to me. I knew nothing about vocal exercises and singing warmups etc but that stuff has helped me continue using voice control long term. I know it doesn't always work for everyone, ymmv
posted by okonomichiyaki at 9:45 AM on February 14, 2023
posted by okonomichiyaki at 9:45 AM on February 14, 2023
Not sure if this breaks the native UI stipulation, but on PC (a laptop may not be powerful enough and it's damn hard to have good ergonomics on one fwiw...) I am very nearly 100% handsfree with the following combination:
Nuance Dragon Professional Individual
Knowbrainer Command Software
Voice Computer Lite
You may not need the full stack, but VC is a key piece to interact with the PC by voice. Take a look.
posted by vers at 9:09 AM on February 17, 2023
Nuance Dragon Professional Individual
Knowbrainer Command Software
Voice Computer Lite
You may not need the full stack, but VC is a key piece to interact with the PC by voice. Take a look.
posted by vers at 9:09 AM on February 17, 2023
Response by poster: Update: I bought an iPad Air, and its voice control functionality is well documented (Apple Support YouTube channel / online docs) AND reliable. I'm still learning some of the ins and outs but the Air is a great device for that and other reasons (and I'm never been an Apple fanperson prior to this).
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 8:17 AM on March 19, 2023
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 8:17 AM on March 19, 2023
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posted by childofTethys at 7:22 PM on February 13, 2023