Accessibility
Gesture controls
This is one of our website experiments. It shows what a modern browser can do: it recognises your hand in the camera image and turns its movement into scrolling and choosing content, without touching the screen or using a mouse. Switch it on for convenience or out of curiosity about how it works.
All recognition happens on your device, and the camera is off by default. The feature is an extra, not a requirement: the website works normally without it, and every gesture has a keyboard equivalent, described below.
Before you turn on the camera
- The image never leaves your browser. Hand recognition takes place on your device. We do not send, record or save the camera image.
- The camera is off by default. It starts only after you press the button and give your consent in the browser prompt.
- You turn it off with one key. The Escape key ends the function and releases the camera immediately.
- Recognition needs light falling on your hand and a distance of about half a metre to a metre from the camera.
How to start
1
Read the gesture set
Four gestures, described below. It helps to know them before turning on the camera, so the first attempt succeeds.
2
Press the button and agree in the browser
The camera starts only after your consent. Refusing does not break the page: everything still works with a mouse, a finger and a keyboard.
3
Check the preview in the corner
You will see an outline of your hand. If you cannot see it, adjust the light or the distance, instead of repeating the gesture.
After you press the button, the browser will ask for access to the camera. You can refuse; the page will keep working without any changes.
Gesture set
Gestures fall into two groups. The first group is enough to move around the page and open what interests you. The second group is made up of shortcuts to things you could do anyway with links, the gesture just makes it quicker.
Moving around the page
Gesture
What it does
Without the camera
Pointing with a finger
Index finger extended, other fingers bent
Guides the pointer across the page. Over a link or button, the pointer is gently pulled towards the target, so hitting it does not need a steady hand.
Tab key
Stopping the pointer
Pointer stationary on the element, for about a second
Closes the ring and opens the selected element. Pulling your hand back before it closes cancels the selection.
Enter
Pinch
Thumb and index finger together
Opens the element straight away, without waiting for the ring. Useful when your hand is working steadily.
Enter
Open hand, moving up and down
Fingers straight, palm facing the camera
Scrolls the page in the direction you move your hand. The faster the movement, the longer the jump.
Arrow keys or Page Up and Page Down
Open hand, quick sideways movement
A clear movement to the left or right
Moves to the previous or next page in the cycle, if the page has one.
The "previous" and "next" links
Closed hand
A fist, held still
Pauses recognition and sets the marker aside. An open hand restores control.
Escape turns off the whole feature
Shortcuts for tasks
Gesture
What it does
Without the camera
The "call" hand
Thumb and little finger straight, the three middle fingers bent
Opens the window for contacting our Patient Coordinator: a number to dial on a phone, or on a computer a field for a callback number.
The "Contact" link in the footer
Thumb up
Held for about a second
Confirms what is on the screen, for example sending a request for contact. The ring shows how much is left.
Enter on the button
Two thumbs up
Both hands at once, for about a second
Opens the review form for our practice. Pulling one hand back cancels it.
The feedback link in the footer
Two hands moving apart
Both hands in frame, moving apart or together
Changes the text size by one level. Three levels, the same as the buttons below.
Buttons A, A plus, A plus plus
Two-hand gestures take priority over one-hand gestures. This means raising the second thumb does not trigger confirmation first and feedback afterwards.
No gesture works after a single frame. Each one needs to be held for a fraction of a second, and for the longer ones, thumb up, two thumbs up, the "call" hand, you see a ring closing. Until it closes, nothing happens. This is a safeguard against accidental triggering, not a delay for its own sake.
After each shortcut is triggered, there is a pause of a few seconds before the same gesture works again.
What you see when the feature is active
A small preview with a hand outline appears in the corner. It shows exactly what the browser recognises, so you know whether you are visible before you try a gesture. The name of the recognised gesture appears next to the preview.
You can move the preview to any corner of the screen, and turn off the control itself with the Escape key or the button in the preview. Once turned on, the control keeps working when you go to another page of this site. Once switched off, the browser's camera indicator goes out. If it does not go out, please report it to us, as it means something is not working as described.
Who we built this for
For people who find it difficult to use a mouse or touchscreen: after a hand treatment, with a dressing on, with limited hand mobility, and also in situations where you would rather not touch the screen.
This does not replace a screen reader or keyboard operation. The site supports both independently of this feature, and if any element does not work with your tool, write to kontakt@nl-clinic.pl. We treat that as a fault, not as a request.
Privacy
Hand recognition works in your browser. The camera image is not sent to our server, is not recorded, and is not used to identify people. We do not store any personal data from this feature.
We only remember your choice of whether the function should be enabled, and the corner where the preview sits, in your browser's memory on your device. You can clear this at any time together with the site data.