Tri-axial ergonomic footswitch

A foot-operated controller, comprising:

• a base configured to rest on a floor surface;
• a movable contact surface coupled to the base, the movable contact surface comprising an anterior region to support a toe region and a posterior region to support a heel region, the movable contact surface configured to:
• roll about a roll axis in response to inversion or eversion of a foot engaged with the contact surface;
• pitch about a pitch axis in response to plantarflexion or dorsiflexion of the foot and
• yaw about a yaw axis in response to abduction or adduction of the foot a roll sensor coupled to the foot-operated controller and configured to detect a roll of the contact surface and send a signal indicating the detected roll to a microprocessor;
• a pitch sensor communicatively coupled to the foot-operated controller and configured to detect a pitch of the contact surface and send a signal indicating the detected pitch to the microprocessor;
• and
• a yaw sensor communicatively coupled to the foot-operated controller and configured to detect a yaw of the contact surface and send a signal indicating the detected yaw to the microprocessor;
• wherein the roll, pitch and yaw axes intersect at a point superior to the contact surface.

A foot-operated controller, comprising:

• a base configured to rest on a floor surface;
• a movable contact surface coupled to the base, the movable contact surface comprising an anterior region to support a toe region and a posterior region to support a heel region, the movable contact surface configured to:
• roll about a roll axis in response to inversion or eversion of a foot engaged with the contact surface;
• pitch about a pitch axis in response to plantarflexion or dorsiflexion of the foot and
• yaw about a yaw axis in response to abduction or adduction of the foot
• a roll sensor coupled to the foot-operated controller and configured to detect a roll of the contact surface and send a signal indicating the detected roll to a microprocessor;
• a pitch sensor communicatively coupled to the foot-operated controller and configured to detect a pitch of the contact surface and send a signal indicating the detected pitch to the microprocessor;
• and
• a yaw sensor communicatively coupled to the foot-operated controller and configured to detect a yaw of the contact surface and send a signal indicating the detected yaw to the microprocessor;
• wherein the roll sensor, pitch sensor, and yaw sensor each comprises one or more pressure sensors.