Eye Caramba!

I would like to urge all of my readers to immediately visit this Kickstarter project. So much better than potato salad, this device is a revolutionary step forward in personal portable Speech Generating Device (SGD) technology. It's wearable and allows eye contact with your conversation partner while using eyegaze.

DIG THE BEAUTY OF THIS DESIGN:

The keyboard and other controls are displayed right before your eyes. The generated voice comes from the glasses so it appears to come from you, creating a more natural conversation experience. You're outside in bright sunlight? No problem! The glasses come with pop-on shades and because the eye-tracking camera is inside, it's shielded from solar infrared glare. And best of all, the control unit is basically an Android-powered smart phone. This means superior portability and an open-source platform for future app development!

The man behind this innovation, Ivo Vieira, has a history of successful optical technology in satellites (his original company, Luso-Space, has a very exciting mission nearing launch to measure gravity waves with orbiting lasers). His father has ALS and is very disappointed with current eyegaze technology. Furthermore, we have met personally and I am very impressed not only with his development, but with his future plans to increase quality while decreasing costs. I am proud to recommend this project to you all. Please support this Kickstarter and help get the Eyespeak into commercial production ASAP.

Jumping Joan!

Only Two Days Until The Jump!

Please Sponsor Today!

Many Thanks To Those Who Have Donated!

Residentiality

Last night (at time of writing) I was treated to a personal guided tour of the Steve Saling ALS Residence in Chelsea, MA. My tour guide, via laptop webcam, was my friend Lisa Jones-Wyhlidko, the dynamo who does such excellent volunteer work for ALS Guardian Angels. She dialed me up using Google Hangout (up to 9 people in a group teleconference - a really wonderful free tool!) and said she was going to walk me around and show off the Residence.

PEACaboo

Last month I wrote about the Steve Saling ALS Residence. Steve recently posted a video about the technology which is a large part of what makes the Residence so wonderful for PALS. Every PALS should demand a Residence in his/her local community.

Chair the Love

Wondering about options for wheelchair-modified vans? My friend over at ALS Everyday Living has a very informative post on the subject. I urge my readers to hop over there and sign up for his updates.