Samsung’s ‘Eye Mouse’ to be Made Open Source

Samsung’s ‘eye mouse’, the Eyecan+, is a computer peripheral designed to help disabled and paralysed people control a computer with the movement of their eye alone. Eyecan+ allows the user to perform numerous different operations, including typing, copying and pasting, clicking, scrolling, and zooming. This portable wireless device sits below a computer monitor and can read eye motion from up to 70cm away.

Hyung-Jin Shin, a graduate student in computer science at Yonsei University in Seoul, was born with quadriplegia (paralysed arms and legs). Using the Eyecan + from his bed, he wrote the words “Nice to meet you all” on his computer screen. The student seemed proud that such a device was developed in his home country, saying, “I’m happy that eye mouse is developed in Korea. The eye mouse is not just an IT product, but limbs for the disabled. Hope this kind of research will continue.”

Not only do Samsung not intend to commercialise the project – planning to donate the devices to charities – the tech, design, and software will be made available open source, so anyone can use, develop, or modify their own ‘eye mouse’.

Source: PC World