Millions of people suffering from multiple
sclerosis, Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries or amputees
could soon interact with their computers and surroundings using just their
eyes, thanks to a new device that costs less than £40. 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. The GT3D device is made up of two
fast video game console cameras, costing less than £20 each, that are attached,
outside of the line of vision, to a pair of glasses that cost just £3. 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.
Even more impressively, the researchers are
also able to use more detailed calibrations to work out the 3D gaze of the
subjects -- in other words, how far into the distance they were looking. It is
believed that this could allow people to control an electronic wheelchair
simply by looking where they want to go or control a robotic prosthetic arm. To
demonstrate the effectiveness of the eye-tracker, the researchers got subjects
to play the video game Pong. In this game, the subject used his or her eyes to
move a bat to hit a ball that was bouncing around the screen -- a feat that is
difficult to accomplish with other read-out mechanisms such as brain waves
(EEG). 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.
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