“Art is a tool of empowerment and social change, and I consider myself blessed to be able to create and use my work to promote health reform, bring awareness about ALS and help others.”— Tony Quan


“The EyeWriter” project is an ongoing, open-source, collaborative research effort to empower people who are suffering from neuromuscular disorder and injury with creative technology.
“The EyeWriter” itself is a pair of low-cost eye-tracking glasses + custom software that allows artists and graffiti writers with paralysis resulting from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as other neuromuscular disorders and injuries, to draw using only their eyes.

The “The EyeWriter” Story

Tony Quan, aka TEMPT ONE, is a legendary LA graffiti artist, social activist and publisher internationally known for his innovative artistic style and his efforts to build and nurture the California graffiti scene over the last three decades. In 2003 Tony was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative neuromuscular disease, which has left him almost completely physically paralyzed. Tony is unable to move, breathe, eat or speak, but his mind and creative spirit are completely intact. And he can still move his eyes.

In 2008 Mick and Caskey Ebeling, two Los Angeles producers, became familiar with Tony’s story when they attended a fund-raising event hosted by his friends, graffiti peers and family. In 2009 Mick met the founders of the Graffiti Research Lab (GRL), dedicated to creating open-source, digital tools for graffiti writers, artists and activists and making projects that allow artists to “paint” with technology such as lasers and LEDs.
Mick approached the GRL, as well as members of the Free Art and Technology Lab (FAT) and the OpenFrameworks community with the idea of creating a tool that would enable Tony to create art again.

In 2009 an international team of artists and engineers traveled to LA, thanks to funding from Mick and Caskey’s Not Impossible Foundation and Parsons The New School for Design, and teamed up with Tony to create a low-cost (~$50), open-source eye-tracking system that allows ALS patients to draw using just their eyes.

On August 24, 2009, TEMPT ONE was able to create artwork in the streets of LA again. Using the *The EyeWriter*, Tony made a number of drawings in his hospital bed in Alhambra, California, and transmitted them over the Internet to a team of artists in downtown Los Angeles, who projected his artwork in real time onto a ten-storey building beside the Santa Monica Freeway. After seven years, TEMPT was back.


“That was the first time I’ve drawn anything since 2003! It feels like taking
a breath after being held underwater for 5 minutes.”—Tony Quan


The team continues to work remotely, developing and exhibiting the project around the world in order to advance the technology and raise public awareness about neuromuscular disease. In January of 2010, part of the team traveled to Bombay in order to produce the Mumbai-version of the “The EyeWriter” in collaboration with students and professors at the Indian Institute of Technology. The goal of this effort was to provide one or more ALS patients in India with DIY technology that will enable them to regain control of their creative lives.

In the spring of 2010 Zach Lieberman began teaching a class at Parsons School of Design on the subject of the “The EyeWriter” and creating interfaces for people with paralysis and spasticity to make art and communicate. The class has already produced an *The EyeWriter* 2.0 prototype that advances the technology from being a tool for writing graffiti to a general-purpose computer interface capable of text-to-speech communication, writing emails, playing video games and browsing the internet.

The long-term goal of the “The EyeWriter” initiative is to continue to share the project around the world, in Asia, Africa and Central and South America, with exhibitions, workshops and demos, with the hope of seeding local development efforts and creating a global network of software developers, hardware hackers, urban projection artists and patients who are using local materials and open-source resources to creatively connect, make eye art and improve the quality of life for people suffering from disease and injury.


The “The EyeWriter” Hardware and Software

The “The EyeWriter” software consists of three functional modules: eye-tracking, calibration and drawing. It is designed for drawing with eye movement using the “The EyeWriter” eye-tracking glasses. The software for both the eye tracking and drawing has been developed using OpenFrameworks, a cross platform C++ library for creative development. The source code for the project is currently being hosted at: http://code.google.com/p/eyewriter .

The eye-drawing software is designed to work with the “The EyeWriter” hardware as well as commercial eye-trackers such as MyTobii.

The goal of the hardware component of the “The EyeWriter” project is to make the most simple and inexpensive eye-tracking headset possible to use with the “The EyeWriter” software. We have created a pair of solder-less eye-tracking glasses for ~ $50 using a “hacked” PS3 Eye camera, infra-red Wratten filters, some aluminum wire, wire ties, IR LEDs, batteries, alligator clips and a cheap pair of sunglasses. Over time, the “The EyeWriter” team is planning on creating a variety of eye-tracking glasses in different locations around the globe, from locally available materials, and are encouraging hackers and DIY enthusiasts to make their own pair and publish instructions sets relevant to their specific locale.
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-EyeWriter

Links: http://eyewriter.org

With founding support from the Ebeling Group and the Not Impossible Foundation and additional support from Parsons Communication Design & Technology. The core development team consists of members of OpenFrameworks, Graffiti Research Lab and the Free Art and Technology Lab.

Zachary Lieberman (US) His work uses technology in a playful way to explore the nature of communication and the delicate boundary between the visible and the invisible. He is a co-creator of OpenFrameworks, a cross platform for creative coding, and an assistant professor at Parsons School of Design.

James Powderly (US) is a designer and engineer working in the fringes of graffiti, aerospace robotics, tattoos, demolitions, computers and rock’n roll for over a decade. He is an assistant professor at Hongik University in the Visual Communication Design Department and lives in Seoul, South Korea

Tony TEMPT Quan (US) is a Los Angeles-based artist and community activist. http://www.myspace.com/temptone

Evan Roth (US) is an artist whose work focuses on the cross-section of pop culture, open source and viral media, with notable projects including “L.A.S.E.R. Tag and “LED Throwies” (with Graffiti Research Lab), “White Glove Tracking”, “Explicit Content Only” and “Graffiti Analysis”. He is co-founder of the Graffiti Research Lab and the Free Art & Technology Lab (F.A.T. Lab) and the number one Google search return for “badass motherfucker".

Chris Sugrue (US) is an artist and programmer who experiments with the magical and illusory possibilities of digital technology. Her works, including the interactive installation “Delicate Boundaries”, create fictional worlds that blend the real with the imaginary. Chris has held artist residencies at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, Hangar.org, and La Casa De Velázquez.

Theodore Watson (UK) is an artist whose work is born out of the curiosity and excitement of designing experiences that come alive and invite people to play. Theo’s work ranges from creating new tools for artistic expression, to immersive, interactive environments with full-body interaction. His recent work includes the Graffiti Research Lab’s “L.A.S.E.R. Tag“ laser graffiti system and “Funky Forest“, an immersive interactive ecosystem for young children. He is a member of F.A.T Lab and a co-founder of OpenFrameworks.