IBM Mouse Smoothing Software

Mouse Smoothing Software is free assistive software for people with hand tremors. It is intended primarily for individuals with Essential (non-specific) Hand Tremor who have difficulty using a computer mouse.

The key element of this software is a device driver program that attaches itself to the regular device driver used to control the mouse. It intercepts the mouse motion data before it is used by the operating system and applies a low-pass digital filter to smooth out rapid, unwanted motion caused by hand tremors. The smoothed data is then passed along to the operating system, so that any program using the mouse will automatically receive smoothed mouse data.

In addition to the device driver, the software includes a control panel program for personalizing the smoothing filter, as well as programs for installing and removing the driver. If the computer has more than one type of mouse connected, one can be left unsmoothed, allowing a user without hand tremor to easily share the computer. With the IBM Mouse Smoothing Software from AlphaWorks, significant improvement has been found for people who can basically control their hands, apart from a moderate degree of tremor.

The device driver works under the Windows® 2000 and XP operating systems and Windows 95, 98, and ME are not supported. The software can be downloaded at the IBM AlphaWorks website after providing a free login.

Source: IBM AlphaWorks