Intel Breakthroughs May Help Stephen Hawking Communicate
From: Scientific American - April 2013
By: Larry Greenemeier

A breakthrough may speed communication

Stephen Hawking has long relied on technology to help him connect with the
outside world. For the past decade the renowned physicist, who has battled a
degenerative motor neuron disease for half a century, has used a voluntary
twitch of his cheek muscle to compose words and sentences one letter at a
time. Each tweak stops a cursor that continuously scans text on a screen. But
in recent years his condition has deteriorated, and he now communicates at
the rate of just one word per minute. In late 2011 Hawking contacted Intel to
ask if the company could help. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.nature.com/scientificamerican/journal/v308/n4/full/scientificamerican0413-27.html
http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/scientificamerican0413-27

Links:
Justin Rattner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Rattner

Chipmaker Races to Save Stephen Hawking's Speech as His Condition Deteriorates 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=intel-helps-hawking-communicate

Acclaimed physicist Stephen Hawking, author of "A Brief History of Time",
  uses custom-built PC. 
http://www.intelfreepress.com/news/stephen-hawkings-new-pc

How Facial Recognition Systems Work
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/facial-recognition.htm