A Real-Time Embedded FPGA Processor for a Stand-Alone Dual-Mode Assistive Device

This paper presents a stand-alone Dual-mode Tongue DriveSystem (sdTDS) which is designed for people with severedisabilities to control their environment using their tonguemotion and speech. The sdTDS detects user's tongue motion using a magnetic tracer placed on tongue and an array of magnetic sensors embedded in a wireless headset and at the same time it can capture the user's voice using a small microphone embedded in the same headset. A real-time FPGA-based local processor is proposed which can perform all required signal processing at sensor side, rather than sending all raw data out to a PC or smartphone. The proposed sdTDS significantly reduces the transmitter power consumption and subsequently increases the battery life.