Moving Ahead With Eye Power

About this technology

Overview

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. The JPL/LCT team reduced the weight of the original system by 6 times and its volume by nearly the same factor. The miniaturization increases portability and improves energy efficiency by reducing the power requirements of the system. The system also provides more accurate eye tracking and can be used in a greater variety of lighting conditions. 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."