Essential Free Software

The software, which was released free of charge, is the brainchild of Kohei Arai, a professor of advanced information processing at Saga University. By the end of August, 248 people had downloaded the software, named "Mitsumeru Dake" (Just Look).

Needless to say, the people the software targets are extremely grateful.

"I'm told that the ability to see is the last function ALS patients like me can retain. I'm sure I'll be able to continue using a computer thanks to your software," one user wrote to Arai. ALS is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive and neurodegenerative disease better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

According to Arai, it works like this:

-- Look at one of 15 on-screen buttons for one second and blink. The computer recognizes three points of an eye--the inner corner of the eye, the inner extremity of the eyebrow and the center of the pupil--for permanent registration with the help of a Web camera attached to the computer. Repeat the same process with the remaining on-screen buttons.

-- Ten hiragana characters--a, ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa--and five function keys, such as the "enter" key, appear on the screen.

-- When a user wants to input "u" in hiragana, for example, gaze at the "a" character for one second and blink. The computer then shows the "a" column of the kana syllabary--a, i, u, e and o. Look at "u" for one second and blink, and the "u" character will be displayed.

-- Gaze at one of the on-screen function keys and blink to convert hiragana characters to kanji.

The software can be used with a Web camera that creates images with a resolution of 300,000 pixels or more. The cameras are available for several thousand yen.

Arai said the idea for the software sprang to mind in 2001, when a heavily physically disabled student was admitted to Saga University. The student's mother kept providing assistance by taking notes in each class and using a personal computer to compile reports.

Arai is now trying to improve the software with a view to having his software display a full keyboard on the screen.

The updated version is being developed jointly with a private business in Saga Prefecture.

The existing free software can be downloaded from his home page:

http://www.ip.is.saga-u.ac.jp/-arai/arai.html