Algorithm for decoding visual gestures for an assistive virtual keyboard

Abstract

Text production is one of the most frequent activities on a computer, a trivial task that can be limiting for individuals affected by severe neuromotor disorders such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that can lead to Locked-in syndrome (LIS). These individuals need augmentative and alternative communication tools, since they may have only the eye movements as a form of communication and interaction with the outside world. This work investigates methods of interaction based on eye movement tracking and presents a virtual keyboard that utilizes gaze detection as a text input. It describes the development of the shape detection algorithm for the assistive keyboard, typed word voting from a Brazilian Portuguese lexicon and preliminary results on the decoding algorithm.