EYECAN+ allows people with disabilities across the board “compose and edit documents as well as browse the web through simple eye movement”.

There's a reason EYECAN+ is being called “the nicest thing Samsung has ever done”. The company is reaching out to give those with disabilities a chance to do what everyone else does on the web. The eye-tracking technology, EYECAN+, which is actually in its second generation already, has been developed by a group of volunteer engineers at Samsung. After the original 2012 model required glasses, the current unit simply sits under a PC monitor to work as a computer interface navigation system. Demonstrated in Seoul this week, EYECAN+, also dubbed “eye mouse” by Samsung, allows people with disabilities across the board “compose and edit documents as well as browse the web through simple eye movement”.

Shin Hyung-jin, born quadriplegic, and now a graduate student in computer science at the Yonsei University in Seoul, has worked side by side with Samsung to establish the improved EYECAN+ model. Thanks to Shin, and 17 months of extensive use, the device has been refined and made very easy to use. During the demo, Shin, lying on his side, typed “It's nice to meet everyone” by using his eyes to scroll a mouse over an on-screen keyboard (The Australian).

The portable and wireless EYECAN+ simply hides underneath a computer monitor. All the user has to do is make sure the screen is in sight, and sit or lay about 60-70 cm away from the screen. A pop-up menu features 18 different commands to choose from, like copy, paste, select and zoom; “each of which can be configured to a specific action or a general keyboard combination” (Slash Gear). For the user to select an item, focusing their eyes on that item is the equivalent of clicking on it with a mouse.

Despite its greatness, Samsung has no plans to commercialize EYECAN+ because the niche is too specific. However, the company will donate some devices to charity organizations, and make its technology open source. That way, anyone could expand on the software as well as create additional custom keyboard commands. It sure is nice of Samsung to provide the public with some helpful technology that can spread to reach those in need, and it looks like some interested companies are already jumping on the design.