SITUATION. ALS is a disease that leaves people completely immobile and silent. Is the most expensive neurodegenerative disease. Currently, there are specialized technologies that assist with communication, but their cost of around €6,000 makes them beyond reach for 90% of Spanish patients where the average income is just €23,000.

CHALLENGE. To create a free and effective communication technology for all ALS patients, and help them to interact with the physical world just by using their gaze. The same thing expensive technologies do, but for the first time… available for everyone.

SOLUTION. TALLK app is a free A.I software that takes advantage of the technology of almost every Samsung tablet cameras, to locate the pupils and characteristics points of the face, translating its movements within a predictive virtual keyboard and verbalizing the text entered by the user. In this way, patients can interact with Samsung's voice assistant, Bixby, to solve requests and control home devices by using Samsung’s Smart Things technology. Which allows them not only to communicate, but also to interact again with the world around them. And everything, for less than €200.

EXECUTION. The cameras of Samsung tablets (200€ price) can track people’s eyes, so we developed a software to enhance this technology, normally used to unlock devices.

Our application is operated with the eyes, so the design must focus on this in order to simplify the navigation and have a proper response. The app includes predictive algorithms that learn from the users: the way they talk and the words they use more often. And thanks to Bixby, Samsung’s voice assistant, they can use the app to control different devices and home appliances.

The buttons have a larger surface than the rest of applications and are separated from each other to facilitate navigation and the reaction speed. We have reduced the number of necessary clicks to reach any command. The colours used on the design presents a high contrast to improve readability.