forget the mouse: augmental’s mouthpad lets the tongue control the cursor

Tomas Kauer - News Writer and News Moderator

forget the mouse: augmental’s mouthpad lets the tongue control the cursor

MOUTHPAD MOVES FROM EXPERIMENT TO PUBLIC SALES

Three years after designboom reported on Augmental’s experimental tongue-controlled interface, the San Francisco-based startup is opening public sales of the MouthPad across the United States. First released through an early access program in 2024, the hands-free device is now used by more than 100 people with mobility challenges, including students, artists, gamers and professionals. Some reportedly wear it for up to 16 hours a day — quite a commitment to a computer mouse, even when it happens to sit against the roof of the mouth.

Custom-made for each wearer, the MouthPad resembles a slim dental retainer fitted over the upper teeth. A pressure-sensitive trackpad positioned against the palate reads tongue movements, while integrated motion sensors translate head gestures into cursor commands. Users can click, scroll, swipe and drag, with a sipping motion providing an additional input. Connected through Bluetooth, the device works across phones, tablets and computers, turning a part of the body generally reserved for speaking, eating and regretting hot coffee into a programmable control surface.

MouthPad turns tongue gestures into cursor control | all images courtesy of Augmental

THE SECOND GENERATION MOVES BEYOND THE CURSOR

The second generation expands the MouthPad from a digital mouse into a more adaptable controller. Tongue gestures can activate keyboard shortcuts, while the pressure-sensitive trackpad can be remapped to WASD controls for gaming, three-dimensional modeling and other applications. The updated version can also pair with several devices simultaneously and switch between them using a physical button. Weighing approximately 10 grams, the dental-resin wearable provides more than seven hours of continuous battery life.

Augmental says more than 6,300 people have joined its waiting list, including surgeons, technicians, pianists, boxers, mechanics and parents searching for hands-free digital control. MouthPad user Tomás Baptista recently achieved 10.47 bits per second during a cursor task measuring speed and accuracy, a performance the company compares with state-of-the-art implanted brain-computer interfaces. The distinction is fairly significant: MouthPad aims for comparable pointer control without requiring its users to invite a surgeon anywhere near their brain.

the custom-fit device rests against the upper teeth

VOX TURNS QUIET SPEECH INTO TEXT

Alongside the public launch, Augmental is introducing VOX, a wearable microphone pendant described as an ‘invisible keyboard.’ Inspired by the stethoscope, the device captures sound traveling through both the air and the wearer’s body. This approach is designed to reject background conversations and environmental noise, allowing users to dictate at lower volumes in places where speaking normally may be impractical, whether inside a library or across a crowded café.

VOX only begins recording when its wearer presses the pendant or, when paired with the MouthPad, performs a programmed tongue gesture. The deliberate activation avoids the permanently listening behavior of many voice assistants while enabling users to compose messages, record thoughts or interact with artificial intelligence on the move. Together, the MouthPad and VOX form what Augmental calls Skinware: body-coupled interfaces conceived as an alternative mouse and keyboard, only without the desk, the hands or, eventually, much audible speech at all.

VOX complements MouthPad as a wearable voice keyboard