Control your Computer with just your eyes

A new system is being developed by a Japanese professor where PC users can input text simply by looking at an on-screen keyboard.
Professor Arai Kohei of Saga University's Faculty of Science and Engineering has developed this system.

When the you gaze at a character for one second, the system inputs the appropriate character. It does this by using a miniature camera, detecting your line of sight and then inputting the character you are looking at.

The system is called Mitsumeru Dake in Japanese, which means "Just Look." Professor Arai says the system will be useful to people with disabilities or for medical and social-welfare applications. A lot of people with disabilities are unable to use personal computers unless they have expensive special equipment.

In his system, a miniature camera attached to the computer notes the positions of three points for each eye: the inner corner of the eye, the inner extremity of the eyebrow, and the center of the pupil. By determining these positions and the direction in which the face is turned, and by following the line of sight it recognizes the exact location on the screen that the user is looking at.
He says that even people wearing glasses can use the system. He also states that it works up to a distance of about 12 inches from the on-screen keyboard characters. The characters are about 1 inch apart. So his system provides a very accurate method of inputting text.
Professor Arai is going to make the software available free of charge, so the only cost for his system is approximately $25, the price of the camera. Bedridden people or those with impaired use of the hands can easily use the system to communicate their needs - to ask for a nurse, for example, or to indicate that they are thirsty.
This system is another example of how Japanese researchers and companies are putting technology to use in their quest to improve the lives of elderly and disabled people.
Right now it's not available in the US, but watch for it coming soon!

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