Eye movement control of computer functions

Abstract

The control of computer functions by eye movements was demonstrated in 14 normal volunteers. Electrical potentials recorded by horizontal and vertical electrooculography (EOG) were transformed into a cursor that represented a moving fixation point on a computer display. Subjects were able to spell words and sentences by using eye movements to place the cursor on target letters in the display of an alphabet matrix. The successful demonstration of computer-controlled syntactic construction by eye movements offers a potentially useful technique for computer-assisted communication in special groups, such as developmentally-disabled individuals who have motor paralysis and who cannot speak.