I remember seeing this ages ago but I thought I’d blog this gem again – The Eye Writer. For most graf artists, Tony Quan, also known as Tempt One is considered to be one of the most influential cats in the L.A scene. Unfortunately in 2003, he was diagnosed with a degenerative nerve disorder, ALS, leaving him completely paralysed except for his eyes.

Artists and engineers at Free Art and Technology Lab, Graffiti Research Lab, and OpenFrameworks invented this product last year and it’s been recognised as one of the “50 Best Inventions of 2010″ by Time magazine.  Eye movements are tracked by the use of cameras and open source vision software. It’s just amazing how the ‘EyeWriter’ has given Tempt and many others the ability to communicate through art again. No form of descriptive text could bring justice to achievement and the success of this product and the impact it has on those unable to communicate their art. I’ll let you feel, see and experience this through the visuals below.

On another note, it definitely should be a reminder to all of us to never take our skills for granted. I mean, if you think about it, you never know when it will be taken away. For the inspiring TED talk by Mark Ebeling, one of the key designers on this project, click here.

The Eyewriter from Evan Roth on Vimeo.

photos taken from www.eyewriter.org