Enhancing communication for disabled individuals with an eye-blink operated virtual keyboard

A virtual keyboard is a system comprising software and hardware that enables users to input characters. It can often be operated through various input devices, such as a physical keyboard or a computer mouse. The primary goal of a virtual keyboard is to offer an alternative input method, particularly for individuals with disabilities who cannot use standard physical keyboards. In this research, we designed a virtual keyboard that operates using eye-blink signals as inputs. The system captures these signals from the user, processes them through amplification and filtration, and then sends them to a software interface built using LabVIEW. The virtual keyboard is divided into three modules (Module 1, Module 2, and Module 3). The selection of a module is triggered by the number of consecutive eye blinks detected. Once a specific module is activated, the user can further interact to select a column within that module through additional eye-blink inputs. Subsequently, the activated column allows for the selection of individual characters. This innovative approach enables individuals with severe physical disabilities to communicate effectively by leveraging eye-blink signals to interact with the virtual keyboard.