What would it cost to license or adopt this technology?+
The project was publicly funded with EUR 2,704,375 from the EU under a Research and Innovation Action (RIA). Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with the coordinator (CERTH, Greece) and relevant consortium partners. RIA projects typically allow flexible IP arrangements, but specific costs are not published.
Can this scale to commercial production?+
The project delivered prototype interface applications (D5.2 and D5.3) that extend existing operating system APIs, which means the software layer could scale without hardware redesign. However, the system relies on off-the-shelf eye-trackers, EEG recorders, and bio-measurement sensors — so scaling depends on the cost and availability of these devices. Moving from pilot prototypes to a commercial product would require additional engineering and certification.
Who owns the intellectual property?+
IP is distributed among the 8 consortium partners across 5 countries (Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Netherlands). Under Horizon 2020 RIA rules, each partner typically owns the IP they generated. A licensing or collaboration agreement with the coordinator CERTH would be the starting point for access.
Has this been tested with real users?+
Yes. The project engaged 3 different cohorts of disabled users — people with Parkinson's disease, muscular disorders, and tetraplegia. Pilot trials were conducted and their results fed into the final prototype design (deliverable D5.3). The prototypes were evaluated for effectiveness in changing user behavior and acceptance.
What hardware is required?+
The system uses an eye-tracker, an EEG recorder, and bio-measurement sensors. These are commercially available devices. The project's contribution is the software layer — pattern recognition algorithms and OS-level API extensions — that translates signals from these devices into computer control commands.
What regulations apply to this kind of technology?+
As a medical assistive device, commercial deployment would likely require CE marking under the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) if marketed for clinical use. If positioned as a general accessibility tool rather than a medical device, regulatory requirements may be lighter. Based on available project data, the regulatory pathway was not the primary focus of the research.
How does this compare to existing voice control or switch-based systems?+
Unlike voice control, this works for users who have lost speech ability alongside muscle control. Unlike switch-based systems that offer limited input options, MAMEM supports low-level control (mouse movement), mid-level actions (checkbox selection), and high-level operations (selecting multiple items from a list). This multi-level approach was specifically designed for users with severe motor impairments.
