A novel eye writing device

A novel device that makes it possible to draw and write using just eye movements has been developed by a CNRS researcher at the Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (CNRS/UPMC/Inserm).

Subjects can use it like a pen to write numbers, letters, figures, their signature and even use their eyes to draw using a very simple technique comprising an oculometer(1) and a computer screen. This remarkable feat is based on a visual illusion that enables the eyes to follow smooth and clear trajectories after only several hours of training.

This system could improve the living conditions of patients suffering from paralysis of the limbs. This work is published on the 26 July 2012 in the journal Current Biology.

Current writing devices using eye movements only allow users to choose from words or letters that are displayed on a screen but do not give them the freedom to draw their own figures. Until now, this was thought to be impossible.

In fact, although the eye can follow a moving object very efficiently, it is not capable of performing smooth, regular movements in front of a static background. Any attempt in this sense results in a succession of quite irregular jerks. 

To obtain smooth trajectories of the eye, Jean Lorenceau, CNRS researcher at the Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (CNRS/UPMC/Inserm) came up with the idea of using a visual illusion called reverse-phi, which has been known since the 1970s but which has not until now found any applications.