MouthPad, the first-ever tongue trackpad, launches to the public alongside new wearable, Vox

Augmental opens public U.S. sales for the MouthPad and introduces its next wearable, Vox: a privacy-first mic pendant for voice-driven computing.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Augmental today announces the public U.S. launch of the MouthPad, its tongue-driven computer mouse, and, at the same time, releases a beta of its "invisible keyboard," Vox.

First launched via an Early Access program in 2024, the MouthPad is a hands-free Bluetooth mouse that lets users control phones, tablets, and computers using tongue, head, and "sip" gestures. The device is currently used by over 100 people living with mobility challenges, including students, artists, and gamers, for up to 16 hours a day by some users.

"I game better, work faster, and life's just easier," said MouthPad user Tomás Baptista. "But best of all, when I use my computer, I no longer feel like my limitations hold me back."

Custom-made for each user, the MouthPad fits over the upper teeth, like a slim retainer. The device features a pressure-sensitive trackpad on the palate as well as head-based motion sensing, enabling hands-free cursor control, clicks, swipes, and other gestures, customizable in the companion app.

Augmental released the second generation of the MouthPad earlier this year, expanding the platform beyond the computer mouse. Users can now activate custom keyboard shortcuts with tongue gestures and remap the trackpad to WASD controls for computer gameplay, 3D modeling, and other applications. The new version also features a battery life of 7+ hours and the ability to pair with multiple devices simultaneously, with one-button device switching.

Baptista, who uses the device daily for his work as a screener analyst, recently set a new MouthPad record of 10.47 bits per second in a cursor-control task similar to Webgrid, which measures both speed and accuracy. This matches the performance of today's state-of-the-art implanted brain-computer interfaces, which also provide hands-free pointer control but require brain surgery.

The MouthPad is now available to the public for the first time. Waitlist applicants currently number over 6,300, including surgeons, technicians, pianists, boxers, mechanics, parents, and others needing hands-free digital control.

Augmental introduces Vox, the "invisible keyboard"

Behind the scenes, Augmental also developed the MouthPad's second half, Vox — its reimagining of the keyboard.

Inspired by the stethoscope, Vox is a skin-worn mic pendant that captures sound not only through the air, but also through the body. The device also rejects more ambient noise and background conversations than conventional microphones. This allows users to dictate to their devices at much quieter volumes, from private whispers in a library to low-volume speech in a noisy cafe.

"I can speak a lot quieter and with many fewer mistakes than using the microphone built into the laptop," said Vox tester and MouthPad user Brian McCarthy, a forest ecology professor at Ohio University.

Vox also enables wearable text input. Users can trigger Vox by pressing a button on the pendant — or, when Vox is paired with the MouthPad, using a tongue gesture — to privately dictate thoughts, send messages, or chat with AI while on the go. Designed around privacy, Vox can only be activated with a deliberate gesture, unlike with other always-listening devices.

The goal, the company says, is to finally unlock voice for controlling computers in a way that is actually usable: private, robust, and always available.

"Technology should meet humans where they are," said Augmental CEO and Co-Founder Tomás Vega. "Not the other way around."

Vega first identified the need for something like Vox during a summer internship at Apple, working on Siri. Because of his stutter, Vega cannot reliably use speech interfaces and was unable to effectively demo many of his projects. At low volumes, however, his stutter is greatly reduced.

Particularly in the voice AI era, the team hopes Vox will help ensure equitable access to dictation for people with limited lung function, speech impediments, or hand impairments, including current MouthPad users who rely on speech-to-text for typing.

All proceeds from the first batch of Vox's beta release will fund MouthPads for those in need.

Looking ahead, with the MouthPad and Vox working in sync, the engineers will be able to unlock fully "silent speech" on the MouthPad: a holy grail in human-computer interaction today. By pairing acoustic data from Vox with tongue movement patterns on the MouthPad, they can build a custom speech model without the need for sound (or brain surgery).

"If you design for those who are the most constrained, you design better interfaces for everybody," Vega said.

Together, Vox and the MouthPad form an ecosystem of wearables Augmental calls Skinware: body-coupled interfaces that let people control computers and AI more naturally. The interfaces meld intimately and invisibly with the human body — unlike today's pins, glasses, and LED wearables — improving signal quality, comfort, and expression in the digital world.

Vox is currently in beta and costs $200, with units expected to ship by late 2026. The MouthPad costs $1,400, not including the required dental scan (approximately $100). Both ship within six months and are available at https://augmental.tech

About Augmental:

Augmental is a frontier human-machine interface lab building next-generation wearables. Its products include the MouthPad, a tongue-controlled computer mouse, and Vox, an on-the-go voice keyboard. The team hails from the MIT Media Lab, UC Berkeley Neural Engineering, iota Biosciences, Neuralink, Apple Siri, Microsoft HoloLens, Fitbit, and Google. Augmental's mission is to augment human ability and enable more equitable access to the digital world.

Press Kit:

https://storage.googleapis.com/augmental-static-assets/Augmental_Press_Release_Jul_22_2026.zip

SOURCE Augmental