How did assistive computer technology help Stephen Hawking in his work and home?

Answer 1

Disabled Hawking uses a computer designed by Intel Engineers and replaced for him every 18-24 months. The program he uses to speak with is called EZ-Keys, and is a product of Words+. He also uses a custom-designed light sensor on his glasses which is used as a binary switch to interface with the computer. When he twitches his cheek, it's interpreted by the computer as a mouse click to select commands, words, and phrases from EZ-Keys. The computer has Wi-Fi and a wireless mobile phone connection which allows him to make calls and check email on the go.

His voice is a very old hardware version of DEC-talk from the late 70's or early 80's. It is quite fragile and there are only a few left in existence.

Answer 2

A computer program scans through possible choices for what he might want to say. When the program highlights the choice he wants, he signals that fact, either by clicking a button (at first) or moving his cheek. When he has made enough choices to form a sentence, he sends the result either to a computer to store as part of a text file, or to a speech synthesizer to be heard by others. The initial program guesses what word the user might want next, allowing a user to rapidly reach the actual choice.

Answer 3

Assistive computer technology helped Stephen Hawking by enabling him to communicate using a speech synthesizer, which allowed him to continue his academic work and share his ideas. It also allowed him to control his wheelchair and interact with the world around him, improving his quality of life both at work and home.