Moving Ahead With Eye Power

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's collaborated with LC Technologies, Inc., to improve LCT's Eyegaze Communication System, an eye tracker that enables people with severe cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) to communicate and control their environment using their eye movements. To operate the system, the user sits in front of the computer monitor while the camera focuses on one eye. By looking at control keys on the monitor for a fraction of a second, the user can 'talk' with speech synthesis, type, operate a telephone, access the Internet and e-mail, and run computer software. Nothing is attached to the user's head or body, and the improved size and portability allow the system to be mounted on a wheelchair. LCT and JPL are working on several other areas of improvement that have commercial add-on potential.