RRJ #1

Playing 'Pong' With the Blink of an Eye
ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2010) — University students have developed a computer game that is operated by eye movements, which could allow people with severe physical disabilities to become 'gamers' for the first time.

Imperial student demonstrates how neurotechnology works. (Credit: Image courtesy of Imperial College London)
The students, from Imperial College London, have adapted an open source game called 'Pong', where a player moves a bat to hit a ball as it bounces around the screen. The adaptation enables the player to move the bat using their eye.
To play the game, the user wears special glasses containing an infrared light and a webcam that records the movement of one eye.
The webcam is linked to a laptop where a computer program syncs the player's eye movements to the game.
The prototype game is very simple but the students believe that the technology behind it could be adapted to create more sophisticated games and applications such as wheelchairs and computer cursors controlled by eye movements.
One of the major benefits of the new technology is that it is inexpensive, using off-the-shelf hardware and costing approximately £25 to make.
Eye movement systems that scientists currently use to study the brain and eye motion cost around £27,000, say the researchers.
Dr Aldo Faisal, the team's supervisor from the Department of Computing and the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, says:
"Remarkably, our undergraduates have created this piece of neurotechnology using bits of kit that you can buy in a shop, such as webcams. The game that they've developed is quite simple, but we think it has enormous potential, particularly because it doesn't need lots of expensive equipment. We hope to eventually make the technology available online so anyone can have a go at creating new applications and games with it and we're optimistic about where this might lead. We hope it could ultimately provide entertainment options for people who have very little movement. In the future, people might be able to blink to turn pages in an electronic book, or switch on their favourite song, with the roll of an eye."
Mr Ian Beer, who is a third year undergraduate from the Department of Computing, adds: "This game is just an early prototype, but we're really excited that from our student project we've managed to come up with something that could ultimately help people who have really limited movement. It would be fantastic to see lots of people across the world creating new games and applications using our software."
Researchers in Dr Faisal's lab are now refining the technology so that it can monitor movements in both eyes. This would enable a user to carry out more complicated tasks such as plotting a journey on screen. This might ultimately allow them to use eye movements to steer a motorised wheelchair.
Student team includes: William Abbot, Department of Biomedical Engineering; Oliver Rogers, Department of Maths and Department of Computing; Tim Treglown, Department of Maths and Department of Computing; Aaron Berk, Department of Computing; Ian Beer, Department of Computing.
A video demonstrating how the computer game works can be downloaded and embedded from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gU8RqttXeo

Xinwu Chen
EAP1
Mar, 30, 2010
Computer engineering
Reference:
ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2010). Imperial College London, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100326101113.htm
Vocabulary:
Neurotechnology: n. one kind of technology of human’s anxiety
Bounces: v. jump
Infrared: n. red light, not by human beings
Prototype: n. example
Sophisticated: adj. not easy
Applications: n. be used
Approximately: adv. almost
Supervisor: n. the worker who is the manager of the other workers
Bioengineering: n. biology engineering
Enormous: adj. huge, large
Optimistic: adj. one kind of human behavior like happy life
Ultimately: adv. finally
Entertainment: n. public shows
Motorized: adj. auto things
Summary:
This article is written about a student group invent a new technology program in the U.K. It’s about a helpful hardware on a glass. You can control the computer with human’s eyes. The student in the group told us, this skill can be used in a lot of ways. On the other hand, this skill is cheaper than another same tech. Because it’s only cost £25, another skill from some sciences has cost £27,000. The students in the group are very happy to be a member, and the y will continue working with this program.
Reaction:
Did you feel very exciting? When I watch the video and the article, I feel good. This article is describe a very famous tech. Think about you can control your computer with your eyes, it’s very fantastic. If I go to the university, I can do the same thing as they did. It’s unbelievable, if you can control computer with your mind. But it’s really true. From this essay, we can see that we don’t have to do something with a lot of money. There is a massage “Just do it!” explained the action, that means do something by my own hands and trust myself can do it.