Stephen Hawking, July 20, 2015. (REUTERS / Neil Hall)
The US chip maker Intel has decided to open access on the Internet (at that address) ACAT software (Assistive Context -Aware Toolkit), a system that allows the astrophysicist Stephen Hawking talking.
Hawking suffers from Charcot’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This neurodegenerative disease attacks nerve cells that control voluntary muscles. This results in progressive paralysis, which often results in the loss of the use of speech.
Despite his disability, the physicist has never ceased to express themselves, especially in the media, thanks the famous ACAT software.
As explained Sciences et Avenir , the Intel software allows Hawking to enter text with simple contraction of the cheek with “infrared sensor attached to his glasses and a tablet installed on his wheelchair” . The detected signals are used to select letters on the tablet, and software predicts the word that the user tries to write, as shown in the video provided by Intel.
The end result is a robotic voice well known to fans of science but also fans of the Simpsons. ACAT also allows Hawking to surf the Internet. Futura Sciences also points out that he opened his Facebook page in October 2014.
The provision of free access ACAT could change the lives of many people with neurodegenerative diseases. For Intel, the aim is also to allow new developers to “to continue the work by adding new interfaces, new sensors” improve “predictive system” and add “many other features”
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