The Eyegaze Edge machine is assistive technology that helps children with limited mobility interact with the world.
We absolutely adore this piece of equipment. It’s incredible to see children at the hospice who can’t easily communicate be able express themselves just by moving their eyes.
Children can move their eyes to communicate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decisions or even choose which activity they’d like to do next. This might seem like a small feat, but for children who aren’t able to speak and have very limited mobility, being able to make a decision is profound.
Having autonomy like this gives the children we support a big boost to their self-esteem and independence. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Eyegaze comes with a speech generation feature, games and can access websites and apps. This truly is an inclusivity and accessibility powerhouse.
How it works
Eyegaze uses eye movements to type or click on a screen. It does this through its eye tracking camera which sits just below the screen.
The image processing software analyses the camera’s images 60 times per second to find out where the user is looking on the screen.
When the person using the Eyegaze looks at the screen, they can select different keys (a bit like keys on a laptop).
It only takes around half a second of looking at a key for the user to activate it, so they can go from key to key very quicky – although this can be changed to best suit the user’s needs.
We must give an extra-special thanks to Lifelites, a charity that donates innovative technology to the children who need it most, for donating Eyegaze to us.
Learn more about the ways we support children with life-shortening conditions and their families by clicking here.