Brittney Vaughn Frank

New techniques are being developed to help us use technology. Brittney Vaughn Frank tells us about a device that enables you to control a computer by just looking at it.

Technology has allowed us to do amazing things with our hands. What if we could do those same things with our eyes? Dr. Oleg Komogortsev, with the help of his students, is working on making that idea a reality.
(Nat. Sound lead in - Dr. K explaining the chart of eye movement)
Dr. Komogortsev, or Dr. K as his students call him, has been developing a system that identifies a person by his or her unique eye movements. This new technology allows the user to select pictures, open files, and even play games with the blink of an eye.
The eye tracking unit used in this example is being sold for a hefty 25-thousand dollars, but Dr. K is working on a similar, more affordable device.
SB
"So basically this is just a web camera that is attached to this stand. So the camera itself cost 20 dollars in contrast with 25-thousand dollar equipment. But essentially does the same thing."
STAND UP (STANDING NEXT TO BIG POSTER OF WORLD OF WARCRAFT)
"Dr. Komogortsev came up with this brilliant idea while playing the popular video game World of Warcraft."
SB
I loved computer gaming when I was an undergraduate student. When I was a PhD student I was enamored with World of Warcraft."
Dr. K was so intrigued by the video game that he emailed the company, Blizzard, with an interesting proposal.
SB
"I wrote in the proposal, by the way, that I want disabled people to play World of Warcraft. Let's say someone is handicapped or cannot move their arms to play the game, they would be able to with eye movements."
SB
Blizzard was impressed with Dr. K's idea and rewarded him with free access to the game. Dr. K says that developing the technology will not only allow easier communication for the disabled, but will also provide better security. Dr. K says  a password system that memorizes a person's unique eye movement will be almost impossible to hack. However,
he says it may be a while before we start using eye-movement passwords.
SB (Talking about technology and how it needs to progress)
For Bobcat Update, I'm Brittney Vaughn Frank.