The Augmentic Prosthetics
An Altruistic Invention
This is one of Stareyes’ very first inventions — excluding Zara, which was created before the company itself. With a completely altruistic goal, Jonathan had the idea of coupling artificial limbs with artificial intelligence. But how to connect them? Brain implants did not appeal to Jonathan, who disliked both the idea and the technology.
The Control Glasses
He came up with the idea of using a “point and click” system, but instead of a screen, using the lenses of glasses, and instead of a mouse pointer, using the point of gaze of both eyes — filmed by cameras mounted on the frames and transposed onto the visual interface. The glasses, coupled with the artificial intelligence Karl, then display different information and action verbs when the wearer looks at an object. The user can also speak to Karl via a microphone built into the glasses to suggest other actions or give other orders to activate the various prosthetics. Karl can also respond, either on screen via messages or through earpieces attached to the ends of the glasses’ arms, close to the ears.
Many Types of Disabilities
The prosthetics can cover:
- Blindness for Hassan
- Deafness and mutism for Kayla
- Missing one or both upper limbs, at any level between the hand and the shoulder, for Park, Alba, and Elena
- Missing one or both lower limbs, between the foot and the upper thigh, for Franck and Park
Depending on the disability, it may be necessary to add a metallic exoskeleton, extending the arms or legs, or to facilitate movement.
A Complex Operation
The glasses film the eyes to capture where the gaze is directed. They also film the environment. A microphone and earpieces allow the user to communicate with the AI Karl to facilitate following instructions.