Dmitry Gorodnichy from the Institute of Information Technology in Ottawa, has developed Nouse, a computer navigation system that relies on the movements of your nose to direct a cursor.

A simple blink of the right or left eye corresponds to the right or left click of a mouse button.

The “nouse” will make using a computer easier for people with disabilities or for video game enthusiasts who would like to slay bad guys with the bob of the head and blink of an eye (by having a look at the videos, you’ll conclude too that the ingenious system is not for the cool-conscious).

The technology works in conjunction with a Webcam plugged into the USB port of the PC. At the start of a session, the nouse’s Webcam takes a snapshot of the user’s face, focusing in on the tip of the nose as the guide point.

The technology matches the cursor’s movements to the path of the nose as the head moves side to side. Motion detection software, meanwhile, is used to pinpoint the blink of a user’s eye. A double blink switches the nouse on.

From Reuters, via Techdirt, via Unmediated.
More details in New Scientist.