Introduction: Add Gesture Control to Your Computer

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In this guide, you will learn how to control the mouse of your computer using various customizable gestures without any programming. This includes scrolling, left-click, right-click, playing songs, movies, etc., using gestures only.

Inspiration:

I was inspired to control my computer with hand gestures from the movie Minority Report, where in the future they are able to control computers with a special glove using gestures.

With today's technology we are now able to use sensors that detect contractions in our muscles to be able to detect hand gestures without the need for a special glove. In this intractable, we will be using the Myo armband to detect signals from our muscles through a method Electromyography. The Myo armband also has an accelerometer and gyroscope that can measure the movements of our arm, such that we can control the position of our cursor.

Step 1: Materials

Your computer -- I am using a Macbook Pro but you can use any computer

Myo Armband: http://amzn.to/2nndzub

~~~~ That's it ~~~~~

Step 2: Download Myo Connect

You can download Myo Connect here

Step 3: Install Myo Connect

Click and run the file you downloaded from the previous step. I am using a mac so mine is called "MyoConnect.dmg"

Step 4: Connect the Bluetooth Dongle to Your Computer

Plug in the dongle to any USB port on your computer.

Step 5: Pair the Bluetooth on Your Computer

Click connect. It takes some time to pair the device for the first time. Follow the instructions on screen. This should be straightforward. You only have to do this once, once it recognizes your device pairs (dongle + armband), you will only need to click "connect" in the future.

Step 6: Wear the Armband

Wear the armband on your right arm, just below the elbow.

Make sure with the usb charging port facing towards your fingers and the logo is centred when your arm is flat.

Step 7: Turn on the Armband

You can only turn on the armband by plugging it to power. So take the USB cable that came with the box and plug one end to your computer and the other on the arm band. Remove it once the logo lights up.

Step 8: Calibrating the Armband

Click on "Thalmic labs profile (default)." The calibration provided by the default option is very accurate, and there is no need to create a profile for yourself. However, if you find it to be inaccurate, you may do so as well by clicking "Create a Profile" and following the instructions on-screen.

Step 9: Sync Your Armband

Let the armband warm up for a minute or two, then perform the sync gesture by waving your arm in and out.

Step 10: Unlock the Arm Band

Now that you finished calibrating your profile you are ready to use the armband.

Quickly tap your middle finger and thumb together twice to unlock the device.

Step 11: Programming the Mouse Functionalities

I programmed mine to do a left-click with my fist, scroll up and down for waving left and right respectively, and to zoom in on finger-spread.

You can customize the features as you wish, these are just my personal preferences.

Click activate.

(Alternatively, You can also use the default options by bringing your arm up, make a fist, and bring it down -- like pulling down to open the blinds -- to toggle the notification/control bar and select "Myo mouse")

The default options have the following commands:

Right Click - Finger spread

Left Click - Fist

Scroll up - Wave left

Scroll down - Wave right

Unlock - Double tap

Step 12: Congratulations, You Are Done!

You can now control your computer mouse gestures and hand motion.

Play with different gestures mapping. You can also map the gestures to keyboard control, to play games using gestures - which is amazing especially with VR.


Next Steps

There are many more things you can do with this armband. You can control your presentation with it, even drones and robots. Stay tuned. These tutorials are up and coming within the next few months!