SuperButton assistive technology button

$100.00

Out of stock

SKU: SB Category:

Description

This device is not yet available. We’re still testing prototypes! If you’d like to be involved in the discussion about the design or to help with testing, please join the SuperHouse Discord server and use the #assistive-tech channel. Also, the price is a made-up number just as a place holder.

People with muscle-wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy may have difficulty with nurse-call systems and assistive-technology buttons, because they can require significant force to activate. The stiffness of most nurse-call buttons is dictated by the pressure of the spring, and other the mechanical limits.

Adjusting the activation force of most buttons is difficult or impossible.

This button uses a totally different approach. Instead of a normal button or switch, it uses a “load cell”, which is the same type of sensor used in things like kitchen scales. The load cell allows it to measure how much force is being applied, so that the activation pressure for the switch can be adjusted simply by changing a setting.

Do you need the button to be super-sensitive? No problem, just turn down the pressure setting. Do you need to make it harder to activate, so it doesn’t have false activations? Easy, turn the pressure setting up a bit.

The SuperButton comes in two parts:

  1. The hand-held button, which fits inside a plastic enclosure with nice rounded edges so it can be easily held in your hand. The button has a 1.5 meter cable so it can be located conveniently. It can be held in place using a velcro finger loop.
  2. The controller, which can be mounted on a bed-head if used as a night-time nurse-call system, or placed wherever is convenient.

The controller includes a bright display that shows how much pressure is currently being applied, and the activation pressure. It also has a knob to change the activation pressure, and the screen automatically goes blank after 30 seconds of inactivity so it doesn’t keep you awake at night. The screen wakes up again automatically any time the knob is adjusted or the button is activated.

The output of the SuperButton is a simple switched output with a 3.5mm mono socket. It can be either normally-open or normally-closed, selectable with a switch. The output is compatible with almost all nurse-call systems and other devices that use an assistive-technology button of any type, including the XBox Adaptive Controller and the Mini Open Adaptive Controller.

Uses USB-C for power, so you can power it from a spare mobile phone charger or even a USB power bank for total independence from external power.

With alternative firmware it can also emulate a USB game controller, keyboard, or joystick, so you can use the pressure applied to the SuperButton as an analog input for a game or other software.

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