Maverick NASA engineer turned street artist creates a device allowing a paralyzed friend to write with his eyes

James Powderly

Straddling the gap between artist and engineer, James Powderly has created some of the most unique and imaginative technologies used in street art in the past couple years. Some people seem to live a bit larger than the rest of us: Powderly went from working at NASA, to working with street artists, to inventing a life-changing writing device for the paralyzed, with a detention by Chinese authorities in 2009 for his free Tibet protests, in the mix.

The Eyewriter allows use of eye movements to write  

Inspired by the life of Tony Quan, a graffiti artist who was diagnosed with the degenerative nerve disorder ALS in 2003, Zach Lieberman, James Powderly, Evan Roth, Chris Sugure and Theo Watson developed “EyeWriter.” A reasonably-priced eye tracking system and the software that runs it make it possible to draw on a computer screen just by moving ones eyes. This gives people who have contracted a neuromuscular disease—some of whom are completely paralyzed—a way to express their creativity in spite of their condition. 

Eyewriter Video