The progress of assistive technologies for people with communication difficulties is becoming more and more noticeable.
Over the years, it has been possible to observe how more and more different proposals have come onto the market to help those who have disabilities when expressing themselves verbally.
In this context, Google has presented its new Look to Speak application, which has been specifically designed for those users who cannot move to express their needs or feelings.
Speech and language therapist Richard Cave has explained that the inspiration for creating this app comes from assistive technologies that localize eye movement. The idea of the developers has been to make this technology available to everyone in the world, as indicated in the Experiments with Google blog.
It should be noted that the team started the project at the beginning of this year and the application has recently been launched, which is available for all devices with Android 9.0 or higher, even with Android One.
Regarding its operation, it is a simple tool, since it does not need any additional component. So, the user only has to download the application on the mobile device and start using it.
Through the movement of their eyes, the user can move through a series of phrases. If you turn your gaze to the left you can select some topics and if you look to the right expressions. What's more, one of the most interesting functions is that the app allows the user to personalize each card.
The user will use their eyes as a guide to navigating through the phrases displayed on each side of the screen. This way, you can eliminate those phrases that you don't want to say until you find the right one for him.
Once the phrase has been chosen, the software will pronounce it aloud. To make the selection faster, the user can create a predefined list with the most used phrases. Seeing the good results that have been obtained with this application, from Google they have been enthusiastic about the project, which belongs to Start with One.
And the thing is, Look To Speak has worked very well in areas where other assistance systems did not achieve as good results as in the shower, outdoors, or in a car. The project is in full development and updates will be coming soon that will improve its functionality.