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LIPS Is An Open Source Sip-And-Puff Interface

June 7, 2026 by 4 Comments

Lots of us have– thanks to repetative stress injuries– developed mobility issues that we have to work around when using computers. Maybe it’s a trackball instead of a mouse, or a split keyboard, or mechanical keys with very specific force requirements– but those are small potatoes compared to people with such severe movement issues such as quadriplegia who need to fall back on things like a sip-and-puff device to control the computer with their mouths. Commercial options of course come with absurd price tags, but a DIY option is a different story. [DanielYordanov]’s L.I.P.S project can be built for only a couple percent of what the big boys want, and it’s fully-open source.

So you might think a sip-and-puff device is a two-bit interface, only slightly more advanced than the morse terminal we featured earlier. While Morse code might be an option, these devices also act as pointers, as the lips and chin can be used to point the mouthpiece. Thus there are a few sensors needed: a hall-effect joystick for pointing info, and one or more pressure sensors to detect the breathing interface for ‘clicks’. [Daniel] has single and dual-sensor versions, creating at minimum a four-button mouse. In reality this hardware can distinguish long and short pulses, or combinations of breath to run some nice macros. With operating-system features like an on-screen keyboard, L.I.P.S. can provide someone with digital freedom– and at a tiny fraction of the cost of a ‘real’ medical device.

Despite the DIY nature, for the end-user control and config is easy enough thanks to a webserial portal run on the CH552 that you can preview on the official website. Code, ki-cad and STL files are all on his GitHub repository. If you’re interested in the design process, we’ve embedded his video about that below.

Thanks to [Daniel] for the tip! Do you know of a hack to make life better for someone, disabled or otherwise? Send us a tip!

From one-handed typing to open-source prosthesis, this sort quality-of-life hack may be the best thing about our community. Continue reading “LIPS Is An Open Source Sip-And-Puff Interface” →

Hackaday Prize Entry: Modular, Low Cost Braille Display

July 9, 2016 by 21 Comments

A lot of work with binary arithmetic was pioneered in the mid-1800s. Boolean algebra was developed by George Boole, but a less obvious binary invention was created at this time: the Braille writing system. Using a system of raised dots (essentially 1s and 0s), visually impaired people have been able to read using their sense of touch. In the modern age of fast information, however, it’s a little more difficult. A number of people have been working on refreshable Braille displays, including [Madaeon] who has created a modular refreshable Braille display.

The idea is to recreate the Braille cell with a set of tiny solenoids. The cell is a set of dots, each of which can be raised or lowered in a particular arrangement to represent a letter or other symbol. With a set of solenoids, this can be accomplished rather rapidly. [Madaeon] has already prototyped these miniscule controllable dots using the latest 3D printing and laser cutting methods and is about ready to put together his first full Braille character.

While this isn’t quite ready for a full-scale display yet, the fundamentals look like a solid foundation for building one. This is all hot on the heels of perhaps the most civilized patent disagreement in history regarding a Braille display that’s similar. Hopefully all the discussion and hacking of Braille displays will bring the cost down enough that anyone who needs one will easily be able to obtain and use one.

Continue reading “Hackaday Prize Entry: Modular, Low Cost Braille Display” →