It has been famously stated that eyes are the windows to the soul.  Why?  Because human eyes are thought by many to convey the true emotions of an individual.  While these impressions are probably formulated by observing a variety of facial expressions and body movements (and are not exclusive to only the eyes), scientists have shown that there are ways in which to uncover one’s true thoughts and feelings.

A study conducted and publicized in February of 2007 by the Daily Mail states that “patterns in the iris can give an indication of whether we are warm and trusting or neurotic and impulsive.” How?  If an iris pattern radiates inward, it is thought to be a sign of a person being neurotic, but if the iris extends outward the opposite is true, and a person is thought to be trustworthy.

But conveying emotions and personality traits are not the only functions (aside from seeing, of course) that our eyes are able to perform.  New speech recognition and IVR technology is combining to enable those with speech impairments and impediments to talk using their vision.

Per the Guardian, the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) combines speech recognition, IVR and motion-sensing technologies to formulate a solution that enables users to literally speak with their eyes.

A motion-sensing light that can detect and track eye movements integrated into a computer screen has the power to follow a persons’ ocular movements to the word, letter, number or phrase that they wish to communicate.  The person need only make eye contact with their desired expression for several seconds and the dot will blink twice to record the path of their glance.  Stay tuned for Eyeing Speech…