The Center for Really Neat Research (CRNR)
NeatTools
What is it?
NeatTools is an object-oriented visual programming environment.
It is a software application which allows the user to take any kind of
input and program a computer system to respond according to your settings.
The software can receive input from the mouse, keyboard, or any kind
of input device that can provide a resistance, or a voltage of 0-5 volts.
These devices are connected to the serial port of a PC by means of a
TNG-2 or TNG-3.
What can it do?
Anything you want it to do! Currently, NeatTools is being used to control
lights in the Center for Really Neat Research, allow a quadriplegic
teenager to control a computer with his face, and empower a first-grader
with cerebral-palsy to control her computer with one input device, developed
through rapid prototyping at the Cyberarium. One of our interfaces uses
photosensors attached to action-figure arms mounted to eyeglass frames.
(See the Eyal Sherman Webumentary
)
How does it work?
NeatTools has several tool bars, each with a different set of controllers.
The user creates a NeatTools dataflow network (*.ntl file) by connecting
modules that have been dragged from toolboxes onto the NeatTools desktop.
NeatTools is an application programming interface (API), which enables the
user to program withouttyping in the hard code.
