Now an eye-controlled wheelchairs for disabled!

Technology advances steadfastly. Scientists invent many unexpected discoveries. Here we talk about a groundbreaking invention from two British universities. It is about controlling a wheelchair using eye tracking technology. Well, you can control your wheelchair with your eyes instead of arms or legs. Just have a look and make some blinks to move and stop your wheelchair. Researchers from two universities are working with two eye-controlled wheelchair technologies in different ways. Read on to learn more about the inventions.

Eye controlled wheelchairs

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a pair of glasses that can be worn in to control a computer and a wheelchair as well. Dr. Aldo Faisal, lecturer in neurotechnology is the man behind the wonderful project. The idea will help people who are unable to use their limbs to control their wheelchairs. Users can move their wheelchairs to somewhere through just a look into that direction.

According to Dr. Faisal, user interface of the machine can trace out the path to move on. “The user interface traces out the path and if that’s the path you want to drive, you have to simply wink twice with your left or right eye and the wheelchair will start driving,” he explains. Some other movements of eyes are set to start, move and stop the wheelchairs.

The product from Dr. Faisal and team will land in stores in three years. It will be priced under £300, he adds. It is when the current eye tracking systems are available for prices above thousands of Euros. Researchers have suggested the technology as a better pick for people who are suffering from bad physical conditions like multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and other serious health issues, as they won’t be able to control wheelchairs either with their hands or legs.

Meanwhile, researchers at Bradford University have also developed a prototype for a wheelchair with eye tracking technologies. Unlike the former one, users are not expected to wear in any glasses here. The wheelchair itself comes from the team with built-in eye tracking sensors that can directly gather signals from the eyes of users. Dr. Prashant Pillai, lecturer in electronic engineering is the brain behind this project.

According to Mr. Pillai, the eye-controlled wheelchair is meant for disabled people. So, it makes no sense that they should carry a headgear. “What we want to do is remote eye tracking so the cameras are on the wheelchair itself and the patient can just look exactly where they want,” he adds.

Dr. Pillai said the wheelchair would come in market by the end of 2013 for a price below £500. Researchers are currently working with the project with a goal for more improvement. They are in efforts to make eye tracking technology for controlling wheelchairs more user friendlier and easier.

Via: Metro