SpecialEffect are a UK based charity which aims to help the disabled play video games like everyone else. In efforts to help more people access the medium SpecialEffect have launched a crowdfunding project on website Gambitious. The project is to create a new controller which makes use of eye movement to allow control of games to the disabled. The project needs £5950 to fund the controller and will be broken down to buy the following:
- Alea CAM30NT Eye-Control Device – £2995.00
- Alea Desktop v2 Software – £240.00
- Eye-Control Interaction Software (Tobi Communicator 4/The Grid 2) – £785.00
- Floor Stand (REHAdapt) – £658.00
- Infrared Environment Control Module – £100.00
- Shipping for above items – £48.00
- Dell New Alienware 14 Laptop – £999.00
- Asus 21.5″ Monitor with Speakers – £125.00
The project is currently 57% funded as of writing this article and with 21 days remaining to reach funding it looks like the project is on its way to attaining the funding.
“We set up, create, lend and support the use of specialist games controllers from our library of equipment,” reads a SpecialEffect statement on the crowdfunding site. “Everyone we work with is different.
“Some of the people we work with find it difficult or impossible to control parts of their body other than their eyes. In these instances we use computers which are controlled just by moving their eyes.
“The demand for this work is growing all the time, so we are asking you to help SpecialEffect to meet this need and help us purchase this very special piece of equipment which will add an additional eye-controlled gaming system to our library.”
As with other crowdfunding projects on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, Gambitious allows SpecialEffect to offer rewards for funding the project, with multiple tears including hand-written thanks all the way up to a visit over to SpecialEffect’ National Accessible Games Centre. If you are interested in aiding SpecialEffect with their project, follow this link over to the Gambitious page. If you still need some convincing however you can check out the video below.
What are your thoughts on SpecialEffect’s project? Will you be aiding the project to reach completion? Let us know in the comments below.