Hints and Tips for SmartNav use.

This is the place for comments, criticisms and even the occasional compliment related to the SmartNav drivers and profiler. Also the place to discuss and review support issues.
dziki
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:42 pm

Re: Hints and Tips for SmartNav use.

Post by dziki »

sorry, I have found that, it's OK now :-)
jenniferwinget025
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:29 am
Contact:

Re: Hints and Tips for SmartNav use.

Post by jenniferwinget025 »

SmartNav hands free mouse comes in the form of a silver dot on the forehead or switch access communicating with a infrared transmitter and receiver placed on the top of the monitor. The SmartNav provides cursor control through simple head movement allowing the user's hands to remain on the keyboard or elsewhere. However, the head and neck movement needs to be smooth and the ambient lighting at the lower end with no reflections to affect the connection between the dot and the computer.

The software can be used in conjunction with speech recognition and a mouse grid. A program for dwell clicking and a switch is required and this can been supplied by Sensory Software International, including an on screen keyboard.
gillianreynolds
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu May 05, 2011 3:27 am

Re: Hints and Tips for SmartNav use.

Post by gillianreynolds »

Using the SmartNav


3.1 Head Control How-To



3.1.1 How it works
The SmartNav works by tracking infrared light reflected off the dot on your forehead, glasses, headset or TrackHAT.


3.1.2 Set-up

Put on the TrackHAT or peel a dot from the sheet and place it on your forehead, bridge of your glasses, or headset microphone, etc.
Place the SmartNav unit on top of your monitor or clip to the top of your laptop screen.
Make sure the SmartNav unit is plugged in and the software is running.
Aim the SmartNav unit at your head.
First time users should select a slow to medium profile.




3.1.3 Use

Sit in a comfortable position with your head facing toward the monitor about 1 arms length away from the SmartNav unit.
Move the cursor from one side of the monitor to the other and back by rotating your head. Large head movements are not necessary.
Once you get used to the feel of the cursor movement, try increasing your speed setting. The faster your speed setting, the less you have to move your head to move the cursor from point A to point B.
Practice and get comfortable using your Hot Keys, external switch, or Dwell Clicking while moving the cursor with your head.


Important Note
The SmartNav unit MUST be able to see your dot. When deciding where to place the dot, make sure to check the line of sight between the unit and dot from all angles. Please look at the pictures below for hints on dot placement.


3.1.4 Tips and Tricks
Since there can be a small learning curve to using the SmartNav, the following tips and tricks will help get you up and going quickly.

Head Movement
You should not need to move your head much to control the cursor; by customizing the different features the SmartNAV can easily deliver a smooth and pixel precise mouse experience. The biggest thing to remember is to remain relaxed and comfortable, do not tense up and try to control the cursor; just sit back and let your small natural head movements do the work for you.

SmartNav Speed For beginning users the smoothing and speed can be decreased. Start with the speed near the middle (try a setting around 5) and set the smoothing toward the middle of the scroll bar range. Having either set too high is not usually necessary. As you become more comfortable with the SmartNav you can increase the settings, but it helps to start slow. You may also want to try decreasing your screen resolution while you are getting used to the device.

Tracking
If the SmartNav software is having trouble following your reflective dot then check the tracking tab in the SmartNAV software. Look for anything showing up besides your reflective dot. If there are other objects visible then you can use the light filtering option to remove them.

Windows Mouse Settings
More advanced users may want to take advantage of the windows mouse acceleration settings. Beginning users will want to wait until they have more experience since too much acceleration may cause the cursor to 'swim' around.

The Windows settings which affect cursor movement are found under the "Mouse Settings" area in the Windows Control Panel. The precision can be increased by turning on "Mouse Acceleration" or Increasing the "Pointer Accuracy" (the name for the setting depends on the version of Windows). Also try turning up the speed in the Mouse Settings to about 3/4 and then lowering the speed setting in the SmartNav software, this can improve cursor movement on some systems.

Using Hats
Using a hat with a large reflective dot placed on the end of the brim will increase precision by a factor of 2X. The brim of the hat travels a greater distance when you rotate your head than your forehead does, creating more movement for the SmartNav software to use.

Key Activated Mode Key Activated mode with Key Release Clicking is a very convenient way of using the SmartNav. If you assign the Move action to your CapsLock key then you can simply press this key to engage your mouse control and let up over the item you want to select, then press down again to double click (or drag). This setting, along with other useful hotkeys like "Pause" and "Precision" are located in the Behavior tab of the SmartNAV software.

Gravity
Gravity is a great feature included with the SmartNAV software and should be tried out. Try having it turned on for just "Buttons", it will make the "Control Boxes" (Close, Minimize and Maximize) easier to click on. Once you get comfortable with gravity, you can add more buttons in.


3.1.5 Cursor Modes
There are two different ways to control the cursor using the SmartNAV, which allows users to choose the mode that feels the most natural.

Relative Mode
This is the easiest cursor control mode for a new user to get used to. It works in the same kind of way that a regular mouse does, bumping the cursor against the edge of the screen allows the user to change the relationship between their head position and the location of the cursor on the screen. Pressing the Center Hotkey will re-center the cursor on the screen.

Absolute Mode
Absolute mode is intended for advanced SmartNAV users, and allows a fixed relationship to be set up between the head location and the cursor position. Bumping the cursor against the edges of the screen will not change the relationship of the cursor to the users head position. Pressing the Center Hotkey will reset the relationship and re-center the cursor on the screen. Therefore, the user should make sure that their head is positioned where they wish the new center to be when they re-center.


3.1.6 Clicking
The SmartNAV provides three different methods for clicking within Windows.

Hotkey Clicking
The SmartNAV software allows the user to re-map keys from their keyboard and assign them to emulate the Left, Right and Middle mouse buttons. This provides a convenient way to click without having to take your hands off the keyboard.

SmartNAV software versions 3.20.025 and higher support using modifiers with non-clicking hotkeys, you can add modifier keys such as Ctrl+Z or Alt+Z to hotkey commands.

Please note that it is no longer possible to map just a modifier key to a hotkey function. The reason for this is so that they must not not be "trapped" and so that they can continue to function as modifier keys in other applications.

Ability Switch Clicking
(only available on SmartNAV EG and AT models)
Ability switches provide an alternative clicking method that can be operated by hand, foot or sip-and-puff switches. On the back (SmartNav 4) or side (SmartNav 3) of the SmartNav there is an industry standard Ability Switch jack which allows users to plug Ability Switches in to perform various actions. By default the switches are mapped to emulate the Left and Right mouse buttons, but may be configured to perform other functions related to the SmartNAV software such as Middle Click, Pause, Scroll or Precision Mode.

Dwell Clicking
(only available on SmartNAV AT models)
Dwell Clicking is a complete hands-free clicking method which allows the user to send clicks by simply holding the cursor still over the item they wish to click on. The Dwell Clicking software is a complete package which allows the user to perform all of the tasks that can be accomplished with a mouse, such as Left Click, Double Click, Right Click and Drag.

Voice Clicking
(Available on All SmartNAV models)
Voice activated clicking allows you to issue mouse clicks and commands by speaking to your computer. Simply say 'left click' and a left click will be performed. This powerful feature makes the SmartNAV more intuitive to use than ever and does not come with any other hands free mouse package, we hope you enjoy using it!

Available Commands


Mouse Commands:
Left down - left button down
Left up - left button up
Left click - left button down and up
right down - right button down
right up - right button up
right click - right button down and up
middle down - middle button down
middle up - middle button up
middle click - middle button down and up
Double click - left button up/down twice
Enter - presses the enter key

SmartNAV Hotkeys:
Precision - start / stop precision mode
Scroll - start / stop scrolling
Pause - start / stop pause mode
Center - center the cursor (said only once)
Activate - used in key activation mode to start / stop mode


The Grammar File

The above commands are defined in grammar.bnf, a text file that can be edited by the user, these are only the default values.

You can edit the commands in the grammar.bnf file from within WordPad. Open the file (located in 'C:\Program Files\Naturalpoint\SmartNAV) with Wordpad and change the text that is NOT in quotes.

Remember when changing the speech commands to only change text outside of quotes. Do not change the order of items, the text in quotes "" or their IDs.

Please let us know if you have any problems.

Note :
Do not plug the microphone in to the jack on the SmartNAV. The input jack on the SmartNAV device is for input switches, not microphones.

Please see sections 2.3.6 (Voice Clicking Installation) and 4.2.3 (Clicking Tab) for details about how to enable speech recognition if it is not running.


3.1.7 Suggested Alternate Dot Placements
There are many different locations where the reflective dot can be placed for tracking, here are two examples.

SmartNAV Placement Head SmartNAV Placement Glasses


3.1.8 Status LED indicators
The SmartNAV camera has status LEDs which give the user visual cues about the status of the SmartNAV software. There are two Status LEDs, one is located on the front directly above the infrared shield, and the other is on the underside of the SmartNAV camera which will cause the case to "glow" blue when it is illuminated. Use the following key to interpret what the state and color of the status LEDs mean.

Front Status LED

Off : No object is being tracked, and cursor movement is NOT paused.
Green : An object is being tracked, and cursor movement is NOT paused.
Orange : An object is being tracked, and cursor movement IS paused.
Red : No object is being tracked, and cursor movement IS paused.


Case Status LED (SmartNav 3 models only)

Off : The software is operating in Relative cursor positioning mode.
Glowing Blue : The software is operating in Absolute cursor positioning mode.
scottl523
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 11:41 am

Re: Hints and Tips for SmartNav use.

Post by scottl523 »

I like using the SmartNav with the Sipp & Puff attachment from
Broadened Horizons
NaturalPoint - Mike
Posts: 1896
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:41 am
Location: Corvallis, OR

Re: Hints and Tips for SmartNav use.

Post by NaturalPoint - Mike »

I agree, I have one of the switches for testing, and it works great.
AvesTeser
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2019 2:01 am
Location: Russia
Contact:

Hints and Tips for SmartNav use

Post by AvesTeser »

Hi,

Thanks for answering.
So for me Gunfighter MGC Pro this file is useless ? Just for curisosity, how and when can you use the file it is in the downloadable firmware.
In forum, I never saw references to that file.

Have Fun.
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