Alphabet Charts & Books

ABC spelling charts

Alphabet communication book templates

Alphabets you can eye point to

Alphabets you can point to

Charts with the alphabet + some words and phrases to point to

Coded alphabet charts

Encoded alphabet charts

Frequency layout spelling charts

High contrast charts

Letter codes

Listener Mediated Scanning

QWERTY alphabet charts

Info & Apps

Digital Publications

E-Books

Getting Started

Software

Learning

Access

Communication

Developing

Education

Engineering

Introductory

Seasonal resources

Christmas

Shop

Customisable symbol charts for communication available in five layouts to support different access methods.

Symbol Charts

Core

Creative

Daily Routines

Leisure

Older Learners

Play

Younger Learners

Read Dear Zoo

Getting Started with Core Words

<p>Too learn more about literacy instruction for people who use AAC or who have complex needs we suggest the following sources:</p>
<p><strong>General literacy: </strong></p>
<p><a href="https://literacyforallinstruction.ca/">Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Disabilities </a> website with information and guidance</p>
<p><a href="http://www.project-core.com/">Project Core </a> website with information and free professional development modules</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/46177933-comprehensive-literacy-for-all">Comprehensive Literacy for All</a> book with information and guidance</p>
<p><a href="http://www.teachustoo.org.uk/">Teach Us Too</a> UK based charity promoting literacy education for all</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Self Directed Reading: </strong></p>
<p><a href="https://praacticalaac.org/praactical/5-ways-to-make-page-fluffers-and-spacers">PrAACtical AAC </a>blog with tips on making books accessible</p>
<p><a href="https://www.janefarrall.com/self-selected-reading-books-for-every-reader/">Jane Farrall</a> presentation handout with tips and information</p>
<p><a href="https://www.monarchreader.com/">Monarch Reader (formerly Tar Heel Reader)</a> large bank of free online books</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Shared Reading: </strong></p>
<p><a href="https://acecentre.org.uk/resources/all?category=symbol-charts&amp;page=1&amp;subcategory=leisure">Ace Centre Symbol Chart</a> free printable symbol charts to support reading books</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sharedreader.org/">Tar Heel Shared Reader</a> website with information and free professional development modules</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Letter and Sounds </strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.janefarrall.com/teaching-and-learning-the-alphabet-playing-with-letter-shapes-and-sounds/">Jane Farrall</a> blog post on teaching the alphabet</p>
<p><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/emergingreaders/home-a-z-books">Reading &amp; Writing 4 All</a> website with free resources for teaching the alphabet</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Writing: </strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.med.unc.edu/healthsciences/clds/alternative-pencils/">Centre for Literacy and Disability Studies Alternative Pencils </a>information and resources</p>
<p><a href="https://acecentre.org.uk/resources/all?category=alphabet-charts">Ace Centre Alphabet Charts </a> free printable alphabet charts to use for writing</p>


Getting Started with AAC and Literacy

<p>This leaflet is a starting point for introducing literacy instruction to people who use AAC and why it is important.</p>


<p>https://acecentre.arlo.co/w/events/10-cad-in-at-introduction</p>


CAD in AT: Introduction

Egg Hunt

15 PCS

30 PCS

15 Widgit

30 Widgit

<div><a title="https://acecentre.org.uk/resources/developing-using-communication-book" contenteditable="false" href="https://acecentre.org.uk/resources/developing-using-communication-book">Click here to learn more</a> about the Developing and Using a Communication Book manual or join us on a <a title="https://acecentre.org.uk/learning/search?category=communication" contenteditable="false" href="https://acecentre.org.uk/learning/search?category=communication">webinar with Ace Centre Learning</a></div>


DUCB Easter

<div>Ready-made to support communication around Easter. Includes pages in all layout options to add to a book made using the Developing and Using a Communication Book template.</div>


Widgit

Access Methods: Voice

Access Methods: Mouse

Access Methods: Switch

Access Methods: Eye Gaze

Access Methods: Touch

Kerplunk

Bubbles

Blocks

Dressing up

Turn Taking

Balloons

Tea Time

Train Play

Dolly

Mr Potato Head

<p>Check out <a href="https://youtu.be/fCgGy8dFIFE">this video</a> to learn about the eBook features</p>
<p>There is a lot of emphasis on communication partner skills in this resource. That is because communication does not happen in isolation – it is a social act involving two or more people. The person who is communicating with someone who cannot rely on speech needs to develop a range of skills that will enable them to support that person to fulfil their potential.</p>
<p>Please note that this resource is not suggesting that paper-based AAC is ‘best’, or that using paper-based communication resources is a prerequisite to using an electronic communication aid. It is simply about valuing the role of paper-based communication systems, and sharing lots of ideas and strategies to help develop and support them. You may well find that many of the ideas and strategies are useful when it comes to other forms of communication too</p>


Getting Started with Paper-Based Symbol Resources

<p>The aim of this resource is to introduce you to paper-based AAC involving symbols to enable you to support those who can’t rely on speech to communicate. Communication enables us to express ourselves, learn, have fun and be active members of society. Supporting communication with symbols can unlock so many opportunities for those unable to rely upon speech to communicate.</p>


<div>This pack includes:</div>
<ul>
<li>3 pages for sentence building</li>
<li>1 symbol Choice Board: Spring Things</li>
<li>1 symbol Choice Board: Descriptions</li>
</ul>


Spring Writing

<div>This symbol supported resources is based on the principles of Predictable Chart Writing,  a process for pupils with emerging literacy skills.</div>


Pancake Day

<p>Throughout our work there are many many unanswered questions; Whats the best way? Whats the fastest? What works for a client and why?</p>
<p>The problem is many of these questions are either hard to answer – or require a long detailed research study. Well we have one such question to do with our ongoing work supporting people who we assess to use morse code; Whats the fastest way of learning it? If you speak to traditional Morse users they largely say “Auditory” “You can’t use it fast unless you have heard it”. What they traditionally mean is the dot and dash sounds – because a lot of people use it for amateur radio operating where this is the medium. But – if you are using it to write – without hearing the sound – is it really auditory?</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/030802269405700405">A study looked at this</a> – and concluded a mixed approach was probably best – and interestingly that auditory alone wasn’t useful.  But the sample was small and the cues not that engaging. So how can we easily fix this?</p>
<p>Well we have taken the morse-learn game that Google made – and further developed it. Mainly:</p>
<ul>
<li>Adding Auditory cues</li>
<li>Adding Visual cues that match the auditory cues (Download posters and cards if you need them in different colours: <a href="https://morse-learn.acecentre.net/HelloMorse-Poster-Cards-AllColors/HelloMorseAce-Poster-Cards-Blue.pdf">Blue</a>, <a href="https://morse-learn.acecentre.net/HelloMorse-Poster-Cards-AllColors/HelloMorseAce-Poster-Cards-Green.pdf">Green</a>, <a href="https://morse-learn.acecentre.net/HelloMorse-Poster-Cards-AllColors/HelloMorseAce-Poster-Cards-Orange.pdf">Orange</a> or <a href="https://morse-learn.acecentre.net/HelloMorse-Poster-Cards-AllColors/HelloMorseAce-Poster-Cards-Peach.pdf">Peach</a>)</li>
<li>Provide the ability to turn on/off these cues – along side the dot/dah sound</li>
<li>And we can keep track of your learning – anonmously – to see how fast users take to get through the game. We honestly can’t track anything more – not your location, not your hobbies or dogs name. Just how fast it takes you to learn – and with what settings you are using. (If this means something to you  – take a look at the code <a href="https://github.com/AceCentre/morse-learn">https://github.com/AceCentre/morse-learn</a> )</li>
</ul>
<p>By having no authentication and making this truly open to anyone (and most important of all – FUN!) we hope to gain a greater understanding of how fast it takes people to learn morse.</p>
<p>Tips:</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Use chrome if you can.</b> Its slightly less buggy (backstory: It was a chrome only experiment. We’ve done some work to make it as work as well as we can on safari/iOS but its not without some issues still)</li>
<li>Stick to one device. As we have no login system we can’t migrate you from one device to another.</li>
<li>Please try and stick with the settings you are given. These are randomised to make sure a random sample of people are provided different options</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Check it out at<a href="https://morse-learn.acecentre.net/"> https://morse-learn.acecentre.net </a></b></p>


Morse Learn

<p>Morse Learn is a game to enable everyone to learn morse code by attaching mnemonic cues to letters. It has auditory and visual cues so is accessible to both blink and deaf users.mnemonic</p>


Alphabet Chart Pack - charts you point to

A5 Communication Book you can point to

<p>As provided as an example at <a href="https://acecentre.org.uk/ebooks/designing-and-using-alphabet-charts/index.html#/reader/chapter/59">Designing and Using Alphabet Charts (acecentre.org.uk)</a></p>


High Frequency Words & Phrases with QWERTY alphabet for Pointing

<p dir="auto">pasco is a development project by the <a href="https://acecentre.org.uk/" rel="nofollow">Ace Centre</a> to create a AAC app to support people who require auditory scanning only. This may be with one or several Text to Speech (TTS) languages or recorded speech. The app supports auditory cues in a headphone and main speech out of the main speaker of a device. Currently only these features are supported in iOS &#8211; other platforms are due to be supported in the future.</p>
<h2>So what is pasco?</h2>
<p>pasco is designed for a specific need and is a development project led by Ace Centre. Its primary purpose is an AAC solution for individuals who need an auditory scanning system and who possibly require multi-lingual support. We felt a system that would work on a range of platforms would be useful so the software is web-based, however it can be  specially created to work off-line on iOS, Windows or Android. In the first phase of this work, we focused on iOS mainly because the individual client we are working with has an iPhone.</p>
<p>What pasco will do:</p>
<ul>
<li>Have an auditory cue and main voice, these can be different voices</li>
<li>The cue and main voices can be recorded messages rather than text-to-speech</li>
<li>The cue and main voices  can be split between a wired headphone and the internal speaker of the iPhone</li>
<li>Be able to spell using purely auditory scanning – speaking out each letter as it is written and then speaking out the whole word on a space or finish command</li>
<li>The language can be created and edited  using a simple text file – where each tree is just an indented list of words or phrases</li>
<li>Support one switch scanning</li>
<li>Support direct access, so that a communication partner can use it and/or so that clients who are able to make small movements are able to use it.</li>
</ul>
<p>Try out the app on an <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pasco/id1317265884?ls=1&amp;mt=8">Apple iOS device (iPhone or iPad) by downloading the free app here</a>. The web version can be trialled at <a href="https://app.pasco.chat/">https://app.pasco.chat</a> . Please note that the different audio for a headphone and device speaker is only available in the iOS app.</p>


Pasco

<p>At Ace Centre we meet a number of clients where traditional AAC solutions aren’t suitable. Here are some examples</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Said is a 45-year-old man who lives at home with his wife. Said and his wife are Kurdish and have lived in the UK for 10 years..  Said speaks and understands English, his  wife has limited English and speaks to Said in Kurdish. He has Motor Neurone Disease which has now affected his speech to the point others can no longer understand him. His eyesight is poor. He still operates a TV remote by holding the remote between his thumb and forefinger – but can only operate the 4 way TV controls. He wants to spell out whole words and communicate his care needs with carers. He has tried eyegaze technology in the past but this has not been successful.</em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Fen is a 56-year-old woman who lives in the UK, she is a first-generation immigrant from China. She has had a brainstem stroke limiting her physical skills to a small thumb movement. It is not clear what Fen can see – her family and care staff feel she can hear better than she can see. Prior to her accident she spoke and understood verbal Chinese (Mandarin) well with her family members. Fen now lives in a care home where staff are English speaking. Fen would like to make her care needs known to staff and her family would like to communicate further with her. Fen has begun to use a partner assisted auditory scanning system using a paper-based book put together with her family. As this system is in Chinese  it is not accessible to care staff.</em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Joel is a 6-year-old boy who has a significant visual impairment and physical difficulties. He lives at home with his Mum, Dad, baby brother and dog. His family speak both Portuguese and English. He has trialled some AAC by auditory fishing (dragging his hand across a device and hearing a cue about what is underneath it) and selecting with a switch – but this has proven difficult. He can activate a switch well with his head. He has begun to use a partner assisted scanning book with his mother e.g to choose  activities to play with; to make comments  like telling his mum he loves her.</em></p>
<p>In these cases, there is a range of issues but in general, we need to identify solutions that:</p>
<ul>
<li>Use one or four discrete (in close proximity) movements to operate a device.</li>
<li>Be able to support different languages</li>
<li>Support auditory cues. This  may be with the cue in one language and the main voice in a different language</li>
<li>Where a language cannot be supported with text to speech, it needs to be possible to have audio recordings for the  cue and main voice.</li>
<li>Really simple to edit the vocabulary items for support staff, with the ability to take something already in existence and import the language into a different system</li>
</ul>
<p>Some auditory scanning solutions exist but these are all traditionally grid-based[KS1]  systems which are designed to do multiple things like support symbol systems and access methods such as eyegaze.  Often the language can be edited but it’s hard to import from something like a word document to the software. Few solutions can really support re-organising large blocks of language and “trees” (lists of words organised in categories or blocks) [KS2] of words quickly. If we imagine that, for someone who has a visual impairment, the words are not in a block but are in a list – then it makes more sense to have the words in a list. On paper based systems words and phrases are traditionally organised in lists rather than grids. This led to the question – can we replicate something similar on an electronic system to solve some of these issues?</p>
<div>
<h2>Introducing Paul Pickford</h2>
<p>Paul Pickford is a user of Assistive Technology and a past client of the Ace Centre. You can view more about Paul in the video below.</p>
<p>Paul now uses head controlled technology to operate his computer and has been keen to raise funds for Ace Centre. He contacted us to donate some money to help us fund a bespoke solution to one or two of our clients. We identified the need from the case studies above and sketched out what was required. We are hugely grateful to Paul for offering this and hope that his input helps the development of AAC solutions for many individuals. The result is pasco – Phrase Auditory Scanning Communicator.</p>
</div>
<p><span style="background-color: #ebf1a4; float: right;"> </span></p>
<div class="responsive-embed widescreen"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Paul Pickford" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8lxpvI3lk8w?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p><span style="background-color: #ebf1a4; float: right;"> </span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>So what is pasco?</h2>
<div class="rounded-img aligncenter wp-image-6308 size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://acecentre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Screen-Shot-2018-04-20-at-12.58.48-144x300.png" alt="" width="144" height="300" /></div>
<p>pasco is designed for a specific need and is a development project led by Ace Centre. Its primary purpose is an AAC solution for individuals who need an auditory scanning system and who possibly require multi-lingual support. We felt a system that would work on a range of platforms would be useful so the software is web-based, however it can be  specially created to work off-line on iOS, Windows or Android. In the first phase of this work, we focused on iOS mainly because the individual client we are working with has an iPhone.</p>
<p>What pasco will do:</p>
<ul>
<li>Have an auditory cue and main voice, these can be different voices</li>
<li>The cue and main voices can be recorded messages rather than text-to-speech</li>
<li>The cue and main voices  can be split between a wired headphone and the internal speaker of the iPhone</li>
<li>Be able to spell using purely auditory scanning – speaking out each letter as it is written and then speaking out the whole word on a space or finish command</li>
<li>The language can be created and edited  using a simple text file – where each tree is just an indented list of words or phrases</li>
<li>Support one switch scanning</li>
<li>Support direct access, so that a communication partner can use it and/or so that clients who are able to make small movements are able to use it.</li>
</ul>
<p>Try out the app on a <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pasco/id1317265884?ls=1&amp;mt=8">Apple iOS device (iPhone or iPad) by downloading the free app here</a>. The web version can be trialled at <a href="https://app.pasco.chat">https://app.pasco.chat</a> . Please note that the different audio for a headphone and device speaker is only available in the iOS app. For some support see: <a href="https://acecentre.org.uk/page/pasco-support/">https://acecentre.org.uk/page/pasco-support/</a></p>
<p><strong>Warning</strong>: Please remember this is very much a development project. <strong>There is limited support. If you are looking at this app to see if it is something that may help you or someone you are supporting please contact your local AAC service for guidance on whether this is the correct solution for your needs. </strong></p>
<h2>What do we expect to happen now?</h2>
<p>pasco is an open source development project. We believe that to meet the wide range of needs of our clients a large number of solutions are required. As part of this mix of solutions, a broad number of individuals are best supported by a business model of good long-term support and maintenance. As well as providing a solution for a few niche use cases, we hope to inspire the development of future AAC software and solutions focused on this area of need. To do this we aim to share publicly case studies and data regarding the use of the app going forward on this page. <a href="http://github.com/acecentre/pasco/issues">Issues with our software will be publicly available here</a>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


<p>At Ace Centre we meet a number of clients where traditional AAC solutions aren’t suitable. Here are some examples Said is a 45-year-old man who lives at home with his wife. Said and his wife are Kurdish and have lived in the UK for 10 years..  Said speaks and understands English, his  wife has limited&hellip;</p>
<p><a class="moretag" href="https://backend.acecentre.org.uk/project/pasco/">Read the full article</a></p>


pasco

<p class="f4 my-3">⚠️ We are no longer actively developing Pasco as we have launched the next generation version, called <a href="https://acecentre.org.uk/resources/echo"><strong>Echo</strong></a>! Check it out here!. Don&#8217;t worry, Pasco isn&#8217;t going to be removed, so you can continue to use it. ⚠️</p>


<p>Hit your switch when you find two images that match. There are lots of themes to choose from as well as uploading your own images.</p>
<p><a href="https://backend.acecentre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Ace-Centre-Christmas-Snap-Instructions.pdf">Checkout this help sheet to learn how play Snap with your switch.</a></p>
<p>Why not try it out with our free EyeCommander eye blink switch app?  <a id="LPNoLPOWALinkPreview" title="https://acecentre.org.uk/blog/introducing-eyecommander" contenteditable="false" href="https://acecentre.org.uk/blog/introducing-eyecommander">Introducing EyeCommander | Ace Centre</a>.</p>


Snap!

<p>A fun and engaging switch accessible game made by Ace Centre.</p>


<p>Hit your switch when you find two Christmas images that match. There are other themes to choose from as well as uploading your own images.</p>
<p><a href="https://backend.acecentre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Ace-Centre-Christmas-Snap-Instructions.pdf">Checkout this help sheet to learn how play Snap with your switch.</a></p>
<p>Why not try it out with our free EyeCommander eye blink switch app?  <a id="LPNoLPOWALinkPreview" title="https://acecentre.org.uk/blog/introducing-eyecommander" contenteditable="false" href="https://acecentre.org.uk/blog/introducing-eyecommander">Introducing EyeCommander | Ace Centre</a>.</p>


Christmas Snap!

<p>A fun and engaging switch accessible game made by Ace Centre with a festive theme.</p>


<div>Download and have fun while reinforcing use of key concepts and words. Packs include:</div>
<ul>
<li>Instructions and ideas for use</li>
<li>Communication chart</li>
<li>Dice</li>
<li>Playing cards</li>
<li>Cut-outs to build a snowman</li>
</ul>


Build a Snowman

<p>A resource pack which can be used in different ways. Whether directing someone to create a snowman or playing a game to see who can build Frosty first.</p>


<p>Watch Claire read The Night Before Christmas using Shared Reading strategies which encourage a person who uses AAC to interact using their system or with one of the symbol charts provided.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/x9EZQSuDBUA" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/54dD_jPzGlk" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>


Night Before Christmas Shared Reading

<div>Sharing a story in an interactive and engaging way is a wonderful thing to do any time of year but made even more special at Christmas!</div>


<p><a href="https://docs.acecentre.org.uk/eyecommander/">Check out the EyeCommander documentation, including the version history.</a></p>
<h2>System Requirements</h2>
<p><span data-slate-fragment="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">EyeCommander is compatible with all modern versions of Windows, its been tested on Windows 10 and up.</span></p>
<p>You <u><b>MUST</b></u> grant Administrator rights to EyeCommander when prompted.</p>
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<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1ro0kt6 r-18u37iz r-16y2uox r-1wbh5a2 r-1777fci" data-rnw-media-class="1455-195__1453-_b1430-195">
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<div class="css-1dbjc4n" data-rnw-media-class="1454-__1452">
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<div class="r-1oszu61 r-1xc7w19 r-1phboty r-1yadl64 r-deolkf r-6koalj r-1mlwlqe r-eqz5dr r-1q142lx r-crgep1 r-ifefl9 r-bcqeeo r-t60dpp r-xd6kpl r-tskmnb r-1yzf0co r-bnwqim r-417010" data-key="4dbd287cf2d3463aaf2f2f46374e0168">
<div class="r-1oszu61 r-1xc7w19 r-1phboty r-1yadl64 r-deolkf r-6koalj r-1ro0kt6 r-eqz5dr r-16y2uox r-1wbh5a2 r-crgep1 r-ifefl9 r-bcqeeo r-t60dpp r-bnwqim r-417010" data-block-content="4dbd287cf2d3463aaf2f2f46374e0168">
<div class="css-901oao r-1nf4jbm r-gg6oyi r-ubezar r-16dba41 r-135wba7 r-fdjqy7 r-1xnzce8" dir="auto"><span data-key="b3f938e3463a419e80aa79f643dd966b">EyeCommander is uses a lot of CPU power to run, this is due to the fact that every frame has to be analysed by a machine learning model to extract all of your facial features.</span></div>
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<div class="css-901oao r-1nf4jbm r-gg6oyi r-ubezar r-16dba41 r-135wba7 r-fdjqy7 r-1xnzce8" dir="auto"><span data-key="149e9d1d36274569b10eae4dc66d646d">EyeCommander shows a &#8216;frames per second&#8217; counter in the top left hand corner of the video feed. The higher the number of frames per second the more responsive and accurate the blink detection will be. The highest you will get is 30 frames per second and anything lower than 5 frames per second will be too low to work at all. </span>You <em class="r-36ujnk" data-slate-leaf="true" data-offset-key="19b41fce462b4d65b728f54ea38b8e05:1">can</em> run EyeCommander on GridPad devices but we have found that they get fairly low frame rates. EyeCommander still works at a low frame rate, however it will be less accurate and responsive but you might find its still usable for your use case.</div>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Feedback on any beta features is always welcome.</p>
<p>Checkout this video which outlines what EyeCommander is and includes a short demo:</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/VZ1k-D2hcIE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<h2><strong>Getting started with EyeCommander</strong></h2>
<p>To install EyeCommander go to our <a href="https://github.com/AceCentre/EyeCommander/releases/latest">page of downloads here</a> and follow the instructions there.</p>
<p>Watch our help series on YouTube which shows you how to install EyeCommander and calibrate it:</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLWWQ5nlUD_tvVEM9Ch39GuyFAP_zYhAhW" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<h2><strong>Who would use EyeCommander?</strong></h2>
<p style="background: white;">To help explain EyeCommander we created two personas that are not based on specific individuals but a collection of people who could benefit from using this technology.</p>
<p>Our first persona is Alexis Anderson who had a brain stem stroke and cannot use body movement to trigger switches. She uses paper based AAC with a limited group of communication partners who understand how she indicates her selections by blinking. Alexis is frustrated that she can only communicate when one of these communication partners are available. Her current solution also means that she cannot access environment control.</p>
<p>Our second persona is Ben Brown who has MND and currently uses eye gaze when he has the energy to do so. Typically, he has to move to a low-tech solution as he becomes tired throughout the day. Ben is very proficient with his high tech device and has learnt where all his vocabulary is stored. It is very problematic that his access depends on having enough energy to use eye gaze and Ben’s family is worried that he will be not able to access his eye gaze as time goes on.</p>
<p>Ben and Alexis are both examples of people who would benefit from using EyeCommander. Ben could use it when he is tired and he can continue to use the same vocabulary no matter his energy levels. Alexis can use EyeCommander to communicate independently and not be reliant on the presence of a specific communication partner.</p>
<h2>Previous Work</h2>
<p>Detecting an eye blink is something that has been done before, however the solutions don’t work in every scenario which is what lead us to create EyeCommander. Some of the problems we found with solutions that already exist are explained below.</p>
<p>Android recently added a <a href="https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/11150722?hl=en">new accessibility feature</a> to allow users to control their device using eye gestures. It is great and if an individual uses an Android app to communicate then this can be a great option.</p>
<p>Mac computers also have a similar solution built into their operating system, allowing users to trigger switches using blinks or other facial gestures. If you want to access your Mac this way it is a good option. However, we found that the Mac facial gestures don’t allow you to change and calibrate the detection enough for it to work for everyone.</p>
<p>Another similar software solution is <a href="https://smylemouse.com/">SmyleMouse</a>. Like EyeCommander it uses consumer grade hardware to detect facial gestures. However, SmyleMouse doesn’t detect blinks or eye gesture, which we plan on implementing in EyeCommander in the future. Other software solutions exist, include <a href="http://sviacam.sourceforge.net/">SViaCam</a> and <a href="https://github.com/danetomseth/Blink1.5">Blink1.5,</a> but we found they didn’t fully met our needs.</p>
<p><a href="https://getnous.app/">Nous is a hardware device</a> that users wear to detect their blinks. However, we wanted our solution to work on consumer grade hardware that was readily available. There are a variety of other hardware options on the market, such as <a href="http://www.techaccess4you.com/ist-switch/">IST Switch</a>, <a href="https://www.home.eyecontrol.co.il/product">EyeControl</a>, and <a href="https://key2enable.com/produtos/a-blinx/">a-blinx</a>.</p>
<p>The main difference between EyeCommander and these previous solutions is that it allows you to control Windows devices and will work with the computer you already have meaning you do not have to purchase and maintain new hardware.</p>
<h2>Background</h2>
<p>EyeCommander was initially developed by a group of students and graduates as part of the <a href="https://www.propelprojects.org/">Project Propel program</a> to give them real world experience. They were given the brief to create something that could detect eye gestures using consumer grade hardware.</p>
<p>The group created a machine learning model that could detect when someone looked up, down, left, or right. The machine learning model was trained using a varied set of videos of people doing these gestures. The model was then retrained to individual users so that it worked for them.</p>
<p>The work the group did proved that it is possible to create a very accurate eye gesture detection algorithm.</p>
<p>The current version of EyeCommander doesn’t use the eye gesture model but the plan is to include it in future versions.</p>
<h2><strong>Future of EyeCommander</strong></h2>
<p>EyeCommander will continue to be developed by Ace Centre and the wider AAC community. We have <a href="https://github.com/AceCentre/EyeCommander/projects/1">created a roadmap</a>, with things we want to add and future plans for the project. If you have ideas for us to add please let us know.</p>
<p>We are looking for people to contribute to EyeCommander and to help us add more features. <a href="https://github.com/AceCentre/EyeCommander">If you want to get involved, then check out the code on Github</a>. Have a read through the open issues and comment if you want to be a part of it and we can help you get up and running.</p>
<h2><strong>Feedback</strong></h2>
<p>If you have any feedback on EyeCommander then email me at <a href="mailto:ghenderson@acecentre.org.uk">ghenderson@acecentre.org.uk</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


EyeCommander

<p>EyeCommander is a desktop application that uses the front facing camera of any Windows device to detect when you blink. EyeCommander then uses that blink as a switch input for communication software.</p>


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