A look at video game controllers for quadriplegics

By Spencer . March 22, 2007 . 9:39am

An interesting novelty controller NES/Famicom surfaced on eBay, one that doesn’t require any hands to use. Instead players use their chin to move the D pad and blow into a tube to press the A and B buttons. The device was designed to let quadriplegics enjoy playing video games too. A creative solution that is a distant relative of the KYE mouth controlled Playstation 2 controller.

The KYE mouth controller has one mouthpiece, which operates as a joystick. It has 3 holes for "sip/puff" (6 switches) and 4 lip buttons. You have access to all 12 buttons on the Playstation® 2 controller. The "start/select" is done using a sip/puff switch mounted on the side of the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece comes with a stand to allow you to mount it to a table or lapboard.

The standard Playstation 2 controller includes three joysticks: One is directional–the "d" or digital joystick; the other two are proportional–the analog joysticks. The KYE mouth-operated joystick includes a toggle to designate whether the mouth-joystick is the "d" (digital) control; another toggle to designate the left or right analog control; lip switches for the L3 & R3.