At the recent Naidex Exhibition there were many assistive technology products on display. Over the coming weeks on bespoken I will feature a number of these. The first one is the Eye Gaze System. It was developed to help people with locked-in syndrome, motor neurone disease, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, ALS, multiple sclerosis, brainstem strokes and Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome.

The Eye Gaze system allows people with a physical disability to open up and communicate to enhance their quality of lives by using a computer. Nowadays, this technology is used all over the world and a large amount of companies work hard to develop the most personalised products possible.

To use the Eye Gaze system, people have to sit in front of the integrated monitor. They can use the technology in homes, offices, schools, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. A small infrared camera is mounted below the monitor and it observes the user’s eyes. Then, the camera tracks the movement of the users’ eyes and it converts it into mouse movement. Thus, the Eye Gaze system enables people to move the mouse pointer around and they ‘click’ by blinking or using a switch.

Moreover, there is a way to send spoken messages just by looking at words and letters on the screen. For that, an artificial voice helps the user by speaking the messages. People with a disability now have the ability to use the internet and to play games thanks to the Eye Gaze system. It is incredible because they have probably never had the chance to use them. In addition, a huge number of computer games are included in the system and there is a lot of Eye Gaze specific software. For example:

• Tobii Gaze Viewer to record eye tracking data from applications;
• Tobii Communicator for communication on all levels;
• Tobii SymbolMate to create paper-based communication pages and educational material;
• SMI Experiment Suite 360° to make eye tracking studies easy to setup;
• EyeMouse Play Software which is suitable for those new to eye gaze and for use with all levels of ability.

Of course, skills are required to have the ability to use the Eye gaze system. Thereby, the user needs to have a good control of his eyes, he must be able to keep his head still in front of the camera and he must have some reading or word recognition skills.

This article shows that in spite of severe disabilities, people can interact with other people thanks to new technologies developed by specialised companies.

What about you, have you ever heard about the Eye Gaze system?

We want to hear from you, please share your experience, your background and your ideas about this technology.

Here you can find an article about the company Tobii Technology which produces Eye Gaze Technology. 

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