Click and Wheelchairs

Click and Wheelchairs
Andre Willers
19 Feb 2011

Synopsis
A simple Click language is used to navigate a wheelchair .

Discussion :

See NewScientist 4 Dec 2010 p24 "!Kung inspire wheelchairs that move at the click of a tongue."

Apparatus developed by Ravi Vaidyanathan of the University of Bristol , UK .

A simple microphone picks up low-frequency sounds made by four types of distinct tongue-click (the simplified Click language) .

The resultant electronic signal is sent to a simple processor that recognizes the type of click , and sends the commands to the wheelchair .

The four tongue-clicks can be learned in few hours .

Simple , quick to learn and unambiguous .

The requirements of a proto-language .

See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com blogs on "Click" , starting about Aug 2009 .

Will click make a comeback ?

Possibly .
As an international language with no histotical baggage .
But a complete redesign would be necessary .
This can be done .

Clickety-clack instead of yakkity-yak .

Andre