Breakdown of Approximate Potential Users of Artifice in the EU
| Condition | Approx. Number |
|---|---|
| TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury | 916,000 |
| Stroke | 618,000 |
| Rett Syndrome | 68,000 |
| SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) | 41,000 |
| SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) | 18,000 |
| CP (Cerebal Palsy) | 1,140,000 |
| MS (Multiple Sclerosis | 225,000 |
| ALS/MND (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) | 54,000 |
| Total | 3,080,000 |
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Professor Alastair Gale
T: 01509 635703
E: A.G.Gale@lboro.ac.uk
There are many people who through injury or illness are so physically restricted, all they can move are their eyes. They have little independence and rely on others for the most basic of tasks.
Now Loughborough University researchers have developed a system that can harness that precious eye movement and give severely disabled people back some dignity and control in their own homes.
Alison Laing met Professor Alastair Gale who outlined his vision for the future.
To a person with limited mobility, being able to use just their eyes to turn a light on or off, to open curtains, a door, or adjust a fan heater, could make a huge difference to their quality of life.
That was the response Professor Alastair Gale and his research team received while developing their innovative eye gaze technology at Loughborough’s Applied Vision Research Centre.
The team invited users, such as stroke victims, plus medical experts and rehabilitation scientists, to examine their unique kit and comment on its potential uses and benefits. Feedback was excellent. Some even described it as potentially life changing.
The system Professor Gale, and key researcher Dr Fangmin Shi, have developed is called Attention Responsive Technology Implementation For Independent Control of the Environment (ARTIFICE). The automated system allows users to control ICT devices, or objects, such as lamps or electrically operated doors, using eye movement alone. It is thought the technology would particularly benefit those with spinal injuries, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy or Multiple Sclerosis – conditions which can seriously damage mobility, but leave eye control unaffected.
It has taken four years and £350,000 worth of funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and previously the PACCIT (People at the Centre of Communication and Information Technologies) Research Programme to develop.
Now the research project is closer to becoming a commercial system and potentially helping a massive three million people with severely limited mobility, across the EU.
ARTIFICE works by using a combination of computer recognition and eye-tracking technology. It assesses the user’s eye gaze within a three dimensional room environment and uses this information to identify which ICT devices or objects the user wishes to control.
For example, if a user wants to turn on a television, they would stare at the TV for a short period until a simple ‘television on’ instruction becomes available for them to confirm. Upon confirmation, e.g. staring at a small screen device, or maybe a projection on the wall, the television would switch on via wireless communication.
In addition, users could even control objects out of sight in another room, simply by looking at live video footage of their environment, rather than directly at the object itself.
The system currently set up in the laboratory in Loughborough
works through a series of infra red cameras mounted in front
of an electric wheelchair. Several cameras measure the user’s
eyes and track eye movements, another continuously monitors
the user’s environment, detecting any controllable devices
the user may look at. Everything is recorded and analysed in
real time.
On a commercial level, the cameras could eventually be miniaturised and fitted into a metal arm, attached to an electric wheelchair, which could easily be swung into place in front of the user and then pushed to one side when not in use.
Professor Gale explained: “There are automated systems already in existence that enable users to interact with a computer using eye gaze, but they tend to restrict the user to being sat directly in front of a computer monitor.
“With ARTIFICE, the user has much greater freedom to move about the home or work environment, without compromising the effectiveness of the system. The system works intuitively.
“It’s about giving the user some independence, dignity and freedom. This system helps them become less reliant on carers and others. That’s a key benefit.”
Professor Gale added: “Initially it will cost a few thousand pounds for each unit, and will probably be used in a hospital environment. But eventually we’d like it to be much more affordable, say a few hundred pounds, and available to all that need it, in the comfort of their homes.”
Professor Gale established the Applied Vision Research Centre at Loughborough in 2005. Before that, he studied Psychology at Durham University, gaining a degree and PhD there. He previously researched at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham in the Academic Radiology unit, and then set up a research institute at Derby University before moving to Loughborough four years ago.
Professor Gale explained he’s always been fascinated by vision, what people do with their eyes and how people look at things. He said: “I’m an inventor. I have dreams and ideas and I chase them. I’m always seeking ways in which technology can be used in society and how it can help people.
“Developing ARTIFICE at the University, a system which has the potential to improve the lives of millions, is certainly exciting. I’m very proud of what we’ve done here.”
