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A team at Osaka Prefecture University in Japan has developed technology that could allow people to control their mobiles with their tongue

In the world of smartphones and tablets, a wealth of knowledge is constantly available at your fingertips.

But what happens when your fingers are needed elsewhere?

Scientists in Japan believe they have the answer - use your tongue instead.

A team at Osaka Prefecture University in Japan has developed a device that controls gadgets by sensing tongue pressure through the cheek.

This then activates various functions on a smartphone, depending on what type of movement the tongue has made.

The aim is to enable people to have access to their personal devices in situations that require them to be hands-free.  

It can, for instance, be used by skiers and motorcyclists when they want to activate apps on their mobile devices. 

'The tongue is a well-developed muscle capable of fine-grain movements - so we thought it should be good for control interactions,' team member Kai Kunze told New Scientist.

To test the device, the team connected a pad with 64 pressure-sensing elements to the cheeks of six volunteers.

Six tongue gestures were tested including swipe up, swipe down, swipe left, swipe right and a pushy 'click'.

To test the device, the team connected a pad with 64 pressure-sensing elements to the cheeks of six volunteers. Two are pictured. Six tongue gestures were tested including swipe up, swipe down, swipe left, swipe right and a pushy 'click'. In 300 attempts, the team recorded a recognition accuracy of 98 per cent

In 300 attempts, the team recorded a recognition accuracy of 98 per cent, according to a speech made by the researchers at the Augmented Human conference in Kobe, Japan, last month.

'My personal motivation here was skiing,' said Professor Kunze.

'I like to check factors like my speed while on the slope, yet it's quite cumbersome to take out a smartphone and use a touchscreen in the cold.'

Professor Kunze is also working on integrating the sensor in face masks worn to keep out flu and smog.

This isn't the first time a system has been created to control gadgets using the tongue.

Last year, an experimental device allowed paralysed people to drive wheelchairs simply by flicking their tongue in the right direction.

The system could be used by skiers, stock image pictured, when they want to use their smartphone while on the slopes

Users had their tongue pierced with a magnetic stud that resembled jewellery and acted like a joystick in the hope that it will offer them more mobility and independence.

Researchers in Atlanta and Chicago reported that 11 people paralysed from the neck down rapidly learned to use the tongue device to pilot their wheelchairs through an obstacle course full of twists and turns, and also to operate a computer.

Wheelchair user Jason DiSanto, left, receives a tongue piercing at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. An experimental device is letting paralysed people drive wheelchairs simply by flicking their tongue in the right direction