Eye Writer Glasses Allow Paralyzed Graffiti Artist To Draw Again

Tom Spendlove | Engineering.com | September 13, 2013

Graffiti artist TEMPT is the subject of Mick Ebeling's TED Talk, The invention that unlocked a locked-in artist. TEMPT is completely paralyzed, able to only use his eyes.

Mick initially met with TEMPT to talk about sponsoring the ALS-afflicted artist, and was surprised that the communication options available for the non super rich were not up to Stephen Hawking levels. TEMPT and his family used an alphabet grid like Hector Salmanaca in Breaking Bad, or Jean-Dominique Bauby in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Ebeling promised then and there that TEMPT would be able to communicate again, and that he would be able to once again do some form of art. The communication was the easier part - wrangling with insurance companies for a few years eventually yielded a Stephen Hawking speech device.