Last Updated on 27/02/2022 by Alex Squire
The GlassOuse Assistive Device allows you to operate any Bluetooth device hands-free. It’s ideal for people with disabilities who are unable to use their hands and arms. You can use it with your smartphone, your PC, tablet, or anything that has Bluetooth enabled.
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If like me, you have difficulty using your hands and arms it can be a struggle to operate a computer. Using a conventional mouse is not feasible. However assistive technology, like GlassOuse, can make using the mouse a breeze.
I first saw GlassOuse at Naidex a few years ago where I got to try it out. They were still trying to raise money for its development on Indiegogo at that stage. But I was so impressed by it that I decided to pledge money towards it, and I was one of the first people to start using one… and I haven’t been disappointed!
When the GlassOuse Assistive Device first came out there were a few problems with it. The biggest one I found was that the arms were not designed to fold so they were at risk of breaking if pushed too far.
Also, the Bite click has broken for me a couple of times and I had to buy a new one.
The latest version 1.2, however, has addressed both of these problems. The arms now can fold like a pair of glasses, which makes it much easier to transport them. Plus they are at less risk breaking. Also, the bite click now attaches to the glassouse by a 3.5 mm jack. This means that if it breaks I can just buy a new £30 bite click rather than having to buy a whole new £400 glassouse like I did with the previous version.
GlassOuse Assistive Device Pros
GlassOuse works with any Windows, LINUX and Android devices or even smart TVs that have Bluetooth enabled. It is incredibly easy to set up as it doesn’t need any software installing. You literally just have to enable Bluetooth, pair it up with the device and away you go. Simples!
Some types of hands-free mice, like SmartNAV, rely on infrared sensors, which can be affected by sunlight. Having a window directly opposite my computer means they don’t work very well when the sun shines. GlassOuse, however, does not have this problem.
It is not affected by sunlight as it works by Bluetooth not infrared, so I can have my room as bright as I want. The mouse movement is faster and more sensitive than other types of hands-free mice, plus it’s much easier and quicker to click. I can click by biting on the bite click shown in the photograph below. So as I can click by myself I don’t need to use additional clicking software such as Softype as much as I do without GlassOuse.
The GlassOuse is particularly good for playing on PC or smartphone games that require fast mouse movements. I can now play games like Age of Empires or Angry Birds easily. The swift movement of the mouse and the ease of clicking mean that I can respond quickly to events in the game.
Before I found GlassOuse I had no way of using my smartphone independently; I had to get a carer to do it for me. But now I can do anything on it myself such as taking a photo, browsing the Internet, or playing Angry Birds. It has literally opened up a world of possibilities that were previously out of bounds for me.
I can use Glassouse anywhere with my phone. I’ve used it in the garden, on the train, even on a plane.
I found GlassOuse to be much easier to use than SmartNAV, which I had used previously.
Have a look at the video below of me using my phone with the GlassOuse (Please excuse the unkempt beard):
GlassOuse Assistive Device Cons
Although I think the GlassOuse is great it does have some limitations.
Firstly, you can’t right-click with it. The bite click only acts as the left click function, so in order to right click I need to use clicking software like Softype or Dragon Naturally Speaking. GlassOuse and Softype work together well so it’s a pretty good, although not ideal solution. I have mentioned this to the company that makes GlassOuse and they said they are going to try to solve the problem in future versions.
Secondly, the GlassOuse sits on top of my glasses which in turn puts pressure on my nose, making it a bit sore after extended use. So I have to be careful not to use the GlassOuse for too many hours at a time to try to stop my nose getting sore.
The GlassOuse doesn’t work with Apple products because the source code wasn’t available for the company to use. Although this doesn’t bother me because I don’t have any.
The biggest problem I have with the glassouse is that the bite clicks don’t seem to last more than 2 to 3 months for me. I have bought 4 or 5 of them over the last few years and after about 3 months the plastic underneath the blue cover snaps, or the wiring inside breaks. It’s frustrating because it’s expensive buying replacements as they are shipped from China. I have emailed the company about this and they said they will inform their engineers, so hopefully, they will improve it.
Conclusion
The GlassOuse is, in my opinion, a very user-friendly device and it gives me a lot of independence.
It allows me to use my PC independently at home but also I can use my phone when I am out and about. It allows me to text people myself which in turn gives me privacy.
However the biggest and most frustrating problem is that they need to make the bite clicks more durable so that they last a lot longer than 3 months. I used the glassouse pretty much every day, until it broke, so if they could make it more durable then that would be fantastic.
I am a c4 quad with little arm movement and no finger function, I am looking into getting the glassouse… I haven’t played a “real” video game like a fps in like 15 years, do you think that maybe would be possible with the glassouse maybe in tandem with a trackball, can you suggest anything
Hi Anthony, the GlassOuse should be good for games like 1st person shooters. As long as you are able to move your head and bite the bite-click it should be quite easy to move the mouse and shoot. Whereabouts are you from? If you are in the UK there is a charity called Special Effect which helps people with disabilities to play video games. They have all sorts of adaptive equipment which they can lend to you to try out. Here is their website: https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/ If you are in the US there is a charity called Able Gamers which do the same thing. I recommend getting in contact with them to see if they can help you try out some equipment. Here’s their website: http://www.ablegamers.org/
thank you very much, I will follow up on your suggestions
You’re welcome. There’s a couple of other things I forgot to mention. I use a free voice recognition software called Gavpi which lets you create your own voice commands. You can use a voice command for mouse button presses or keyboard presses, or pretty much anything. It’s very useful and would work well with GlassOuse. You can download it here: https://github.com/baykovr/AVPI/releases/tag/17.03.15
I also recommend getting one of these: http://www.inclusive.co.uk/hitch-2-switch-interface. It lets you attach up to 5 switches that can be strapped to your headrest or arms. Hope that helps. If you have any more questions please let me know.
Alex hello fellow traveller, how many switches have broke on your Glassouse? My bite switch has just stopped working, always suspected this was gonna be a problem. Its not had loads of use nowhere near 5000 they talk about. Have you seen tried smile Mouse ? Cheers Sean will subscribe
Hi Sean,
I broke the Bite click twice on glassouse version 1. After the first time I bought a new one. The 2nd time it broke they offered to repair it for free and I sent it back to them, but after a while it broke again. Version 1.2 seems more resilient. I’ve been using it about 4 months now without a problem. But even if the bite click does break on V1.2 I can replace it without buying a whole new glassouse. Hope that helps, and thanks for subscribing!
Hi Alex yeah mine is 1.2v and purchased just over a year ago but it had already gone back once as it had a charging issue. Not impressed with this failure of the bite switch now, but it bought me to your blog I guess cheers Sean
It is frustrating that the bite switch can break from biting it when it says in the manual that it has been tested 50,000 times under 3 tons of pressure. I don’t bite with that much force!
Absolutely Alex 50,000 times I thought it was 5000 even more peeved.
Hi Sean,
Is there a limit to how many bluetooth devices you can connect to?
Also if you have an tablet a phone and a computer all attached to your chair, can you easily switch between the devices, e.g. if you are using your phone and then start looking at your computer will it automatically switch to allow you control your PC?
Lastly, if your phone or tablet is on standby (screen is blank), how do you turn it on? Can this be done via glassouse or do you need someone to tap the screen.
Thanks
Paudie
We’ve had 2 glassouse sets of glasses, and, twice, our Glassouse has stopped working (and doesn’t connect to our PCs any longer), with a green blinking light showing. This green light continues to blink for days on end, and we can’t get the device to work thereafter. We’ve tried resetting, but the glasses won’t respond to anything we’ve tried. We even sent it back to China once (and it cost a pretty penny), and they sent it back fixed, but soon went on the “blink” rather quickly. My wife is quadriplegic, and, as you know, she has no other way to independently use her computer…very frustrating! The other pair of glasses also can’t be connected to the computer any longer, shows no blue blinking light, but does show a red charging light when plugged into the charging cord. When we unplug it, we still can’t get it to connect or to respond in any way. We’ve also tried to reset this pair, with no response. Any suggestions? We’re quite frustrated at this point, as we’ve had 3 problems making the glasses nonfunctional in the year we’ve owned them..
I understand your frustrations. I’ve not seen the green light before myself so I don’t know how to fix that I’m afraid. I have got tired of glassouse breaking so most of the time now I use SmartNAV to move the mouse which I recommend. https://www.naturalpoint.com/smartnav/ Another thing you could try is smyle mouse, which I’ve not tried it myself yet but it looks quite useful. https://smylemouse.com/ . Hope this helps
Alex, I am originally from the Netherlands; I left for the US in 1991. My wife is a victim of a drunk driver, November 2019, Albany, GA. Spinal cord injury C4-C5. Over this period of 3 years, we discovered that a person in a wheelchair is not an otherwise healthy individual.
The device is simply too fragile at the hinges. We are ordering now a fourth time over a period of 3 years with a hinge broken. The bite switches are worse, although we get more than a 3-month lifespan. We even had a defective switch shipped. We agree that the device is easy to use, but we are going to investigate for a more robust alternative.