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London: Millions suffering from multiple sclerosis,
Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, which
impacts nerve cells and amputees may soon be able to interact with
computers and surroundings using just their eyes, thanks to a new
device that costs less than 40 pounds.
The device could also allow people to control an electronic
wheelchair simply by looking where they want to go or control a
robotic prosthetic arm.
Composed from off-the-shelf materials, the new device can work out
exactly where a person is looking by tracking their eye movements,
allowing them to control a cursor on a screen just like a normal
computer mouse.
Researchers from Imperial College London demonstrated its
functionality by getting a group of people to play the classic
computer game Pong without any kind of handset.
Besides, users were able to browse the web and write emails
"hands-off," the Journal of Neural Engineering reports.
Aldo Faisal, a lecturer in neurotechnology at Imperial's
Department of Bioengineering, is confident in the ability to
utilise eye movements given that six of the subjects, who had
never used their eyes as a control input before, could still
register a respectable score within 20 percent of the able-bodied
users after just 10 minutes of using the device for the first
time, according to an Imperial statement.
The commercially viable device uses just one watt of power and can
transmit data wirelessly over Wi-Fi or via USB into any Windows or
Linux computer.
The GT3D system has also solved the 'Midas touch problem',
allowing users to click on an item on the screen using their eyes,
instead of a mouse button.
Faisal said, "Crucially, we have achieved two things: We have
built a 3D eye tracking system hundreds of times cheaper than
commercial systems and used it to build a real-time brain machine
interface that allows patients to interact more smoothly and more
quickly than existing invasive technologies that are tens of
thousands of times more expensive.
"This is frugal innovation. Developing smarter software and
piggy-backing existing hardware to create devices that can help
people worldwide independent of their health care circumstances."
The GT3D device is made up of two fast video game console cameras,
costing less than 20 pounds each, that are attached, outside of
the line of vision, to a pair of glasses that cost just 3 pounds.
The cameras constantly take pictures of the eye, working out where
the pupil is pointing, and from this, the researchers can use a
set of calibrations to work out exactly where a person is looking
on the screen.
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