Disabled accessibility advice

ayashko

Hi all,
I need some advice for a new workstation set up and possibly some software. About three months ago I had an accident which resulted in me breaking my neck [C-4 total] which means I now have very limited/no movement in my hands and arms. I have some gross shoulder movement on my left, as well as a little bit of biceps, that allows me to manipulate the joystick on an electric wheelchair but I have no dexterity at all in my hand.
It’s all a bit shit, but I need to keep working and I am hoping that I can create a set up that allows me to continue to use sketch up efficiently.
So I would like to ask the community for some advice;

1-I currently run on Macintosh, but I suspect I will be changing platforms. There just seems to be so many more options available for windows e.g.; Voice to CAD style software. I am totally ignorant of what to look for when it comes to a Windows box, should I prioritize CPU, RAM, GPU, etc.? Would a high-end gaming set up be suitable? Are there things that I specifically should look for or avoid? Any help or advice in this area would be greatly appreciated.

2-manipulating a cursor on the screen is going to be a challenge. I’ve tried some head and I tracking software, but been unimpressed. A friend is currently playing with sticking some accelerometer Shields on Micro processes [excuse all the typos, I am voice dictating this on the Mac which is a slow and in accurate process] with the view that I can mount it on my head and control the cursor with my head movements. I’m also trying to get my hands on a large tracking BALL, hoping that I can manipulate it with enough precision to enable good accuracy with the mouse—though this clashes with my next point.

3-another friend is breaking out a logitech Mouse and connecting all the buttons to some large arcade style buttons that he’s going to mount in a box. I’m hoping this will give me the ability to mash the buttons with my hand, therefore giving me all the custom functions I’ve assigned to the Mouse buttons as well as the left and right click. This part I think it’s fairly straightforward, though holding down certain function keys while moving the cursor won’t work. Maybe latching buttons might work, though I would have to constantly latch then unlatch each time I wanted to use a function key. Any ideas on how this might work or be improved?

4-this leaves how to assign tools. I’m hoping this aspect might be taken care of with some voice control. So my idea is to say the tool, hit a button with my left hand, and move my head to move the cursor. Again, does anyone have any ideas or recommendations in this area?

I am open to all and any suggestions, maybe there even people on the forum who are in a similar position to me—I would love some advice. Thanks all in advance,

Cheers,

Alex

Box

Standard voice control works quite well for selecting tools, there are several threads about it here.
This new Plugin may be of interest, and being new perhaps your needs could be used to help develop it further.
https://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=71929&p=655620#p655620

Something else that springs to mind, how about a pressure band around your bicep that when flexed will turn on and off a micro switch. This would give you another option for ctrl, shift etc