Eye Tracking Technology Helps Girl Speak
Author: tiger Published Under: Health
Last week a young girl, who was born with damage to her brain, was given the opportunity to communicate with her family for the first time in her life. Elke Wisbey is six years old who is unable to walk or talk is now able to communicate with others thanks to a special computer system that tracks her eye movement. The system uses eyesight tracking technology and a program called Grid 2, which allows Elke to do many things, including surfing the web, sending text messages, and talking with her family.
Grid 2 is a software suite made by a company called Sensory Software. It is designed to allow individuals who have difficulty speaking communicate easily with others. Using symbols, pictures, and text, the user is able to select items on the screen and the computer will say it say it out loud.In Elke’s case, it is being used with eye tracking technology, but Grid 2 can also be used with switches and pointing devices.
Grid 2 uses either symbol chat or text chat to allow the user to communicate directly with others.Elke was using symbol chat when she told her parents that she loved them. Symbol chat uses a series of grids that are basically like sound boards. A user is able to build a grid that has pictures or diagrams on it.
The pictures on the grid can be as simple as a smiling face or complex enough to allow for the creation of advanced sentences. If you like, you can also incorporate your own pictures into a grid. Once a grid is set up, it can be saved and used again later. There is also a large library of premade grids to choose from.
Using symbol chat can be a great way to improve vocabulary or allow a person with limited capabilities communicate. Eventually very complex sentences can be created using a combination of text or pictures.
Text chat is available for advanced users. A keyboard is placed on the screen and the user can type messages, which will then be read out loud by the computer. There are several keyboard layouts available, including advanced layouts that allow the user to save and quickly retrieve messages.
Grid 2 has a built in web browser, email client, and media player as well. The Internet access can be restricted and sites blocked as needed. There are also many games available, including an assortment of strategy games, which stimulates the users mind, without testing their reflexes.
An interface to Windows is also provided in Grid 2. This makes tasks such as using the Control Panel or browsing for files is possible. It can also be used to allow access to many different applications, including MS Word. This gives the user an opportunity to get to learn and understand the computer as well.
The system that Elke use was made by a Swedish company called SmartBox. It uses Grid 2 with a technology called eye gaze. The model Elke uses is a self contained computer, with a touch screen that costs around $25,000.
SmartBox, which also offers several different systems, allows the user to select items by blinking or looking at them for a predetermined length of time. It is possible to view the gaze point of the user by turning on something similar to a cursor. This can be used as a teaching aid when the user is first learning to use the device.
The application of these types of systems is virtually limitless. People, like Elke, who might have led her life never telling her mother she lovers her, now instantly has millions of opportunities to explore the World.