World first: Foot-operated computer

Keith McMillen Instruments yesterday announced the SoftStep KeyWorx foot controller. The world’s first foot controller for your computer or Mac.

Keith McMillen Instruments (KMI) announced yesterday the SoftStep KeyWorx multi-touch foot controller, the world’s first foot controlled digital interface, providing a new and faster way to operate a computer.

Available for Mac and Windows, SoftStep KeyWorx is a valuable new tool for everyone using a computer, from gamers, video editors, programmers, data entry professionals, disabled people, repetitive stress syndrome sufferers, and anyone who wants a faster way to use their computer.

Remembers up to 100 commands

Pressure and location sensitive, SoftStep is USB powered with ten fully customisable keys that remember up to 100 sets of commands for repetitive tasks. The cursor/click control allows the user to keep their hands comfortably on the keyboard at all times and the blue backlight makes it visible everywhere, even under a darkened desk. Made with advanced elastomeric and graphite composites for a super rugged yet lightweight design, SoftStep is light-weight and portable, weighing just one pound, small enough to fit in a briefcase or backpack. For the first time, those who could benefit from having foot control of their computer to speed up their system can use SoftStep, performing such tasks as:

Access Internet.

Open and close software apps.

Enter text.

Change toolsets within applications.

Bring a browser forward.

Launch email programs.

Zoom in and out.

Control volume.

Scroll through folders.

Output key commands.

Control the cursor, mouse clicks and OS functions.

A computing breakthrough for the disabled, veterans & RSI sufferers

Initially utilised by musicians and recording studios, SoftStep works with any computer program to speed up access, making the computer as easy to use as a car’s gas and break pedals. The assistive SoftStep technology is a computing breakthrough for people with Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), carpal tunnel, loss of use of upper body/paralysis, limited dexterity, hand/arm strength, or wrist pain, including veterans and the disabled. SoftStep is ultra-light, small, durable and amazingly flexible, affordably priced at $289.95.

‚SoftStep KeyWorx is a revolutionary new access tool for people with disabilities. Its amazing breadth of customizability makes it useful for people with a wide range of computing needs, from simple Internet access to complex engineering design,‚ said Jane Berliss-Vincent of the Center for Accessible Technology on the Ed Roberts Campus, the world’s foremost disability center.

‚Human beings will invest the time to learn a new interface device, if the payback is substantial enough. It is not that different from operating a car. A driver must work the gas and brake without looking down at their feet,‚ said Bill Buxton one of the pioneers in human‚computer interface and principal researcher at Microsoft.

Priced at $289.95, SoftStep KeyWorx is available immediately from leading online retailers, including Amazon.com (www.amazon.com), Enablemart (www.enablemart.com), and Disabled Online (www.disabledonline.com). For more information on SoftStep KeyWorx, see: http://www.keithmcmillen.com/softstep/keyworx/ or the website at: www.keithmcmillen.com.