HANDICAPPED people could use a personal computer to control TV sets
or video recorders, in a manner suggested by Philip Harvey, a British inventor.
At the moment, severely handicapped people have to wrestle with a remote
control keypad, which they must operate either by blowing through a tube
or prodding with a pointer held in the mouth. This is very slow, as well
as awkward.
In Harvey鈥檚 idea, for those handicapped people who are able to talk
(British patent application 2 220 290), the personal computer is fitted
with standard voice-recognition circuitry and software. The user then trains
the computer to respond to pre-selected com mand words.
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In response the computer triggers an infrared control transmitter, which
emits codes matching those emitted by the hand-held remote control keypad
that is usually provided with a TV set or video recorder.
Speaking the word 鈥榯elevision鈥�, for example, will cause the computer
to trigger the transmission of codes which switch the television on and
off, while the words 鈥榦ne鈥�, 鈥榯wo鈥�, 鈥榯hree鈥� and 鈥榝our鈥� change channels.
