PC gaming isn’t always the most inclusive space. Besides the high price of everything from components to games, standard gaming peripherals such as a keyboard and mouse can exclude lots of folks with limited mobility. An expanding array of assistive devices is attempting to bridge that gap.
Augmental describes itself as a company specialising in ‘Skinware,’ “body-coupled interfaces that let people control computers, communicate, and interact with AI without relying on their hands.” Its latest project is the Mouth Pad, a custom-fit mouthpiece that allows users to control PCs, tablets, and phones with just their tongue. The device is now available to purchase in the US and, yes, you can absolutely game with it.
The Mouth Pad looks like the top half of a retainer, with flexible circuits encased inside custom 3D printed dental resin. Mouth-based physical interfaces are nothing new in the assistive tech space, and mouth-operated pens are already used by gamers with physical disabilities. Rather than bashing your teeth against a physical joystick, Mouth Pad users can instead either run their tongue over the trackpad covering the roof of their mouth, or engage a head tracking mode in order to register inputs.
Augmental CEO Tomás Vega was originally interested in creating a brain-machine interface, though an internship at Neuralink changed his mind. He told MIT News back in 2024, “A brain implant has the highest potential for helping people in the future, but I saw a number of limitations that pushed me from working on it right now. One is the long timeline for development. I’ve made so many friends over the past years that needed a solution yesterday.”