We had the most amazing guest for our regular seminar series. Becky Tyler is 16 years old. She has severe quadriplegic cerebral palsy and uses special technology to access her computer.

Eye gaze, a still relatively new technology, has changed Becky’s life in terms of enabling her to use the computer more effectively. However, accessing mainstream software using this technology can still be a challenge. Although eye gaze compatible software is still a niche market, Microsoft is now preparing its operating system Windows 10 for eye gaze support and recent tech developments by SpecialEffect have made the probably most successful computer game ever, Minecraft, eye gaze compatible.

In the seminar, Becky talked about her eye gaze journey from accessing her communication software to playing video games and creating art. She discussed her involvement in the development of EyeMine, the eye gaze accessible Minecraft, and talk about future aspirations.

Becky came to fame on BBC News for involvement in the development of EyeMine, Minecraft that can be played using only your eyes to interact with the computer.

A fascinating seminar on how user interfaces need to change when the access method changes and how users with disabilities can be involved in software development.