How Does Stephen Hawking’s Chair Work?

How does Stephen Hawking’s chair work? Stephen Hawking’s chair is used to work through facial expressions. There was a computer mounted on his wheelchair by which Stephen used to remain in touch with his friends and family.

The computer had such a mechanism by which he could talk, write, read, and everything. He used to email everyone or check them through Eudora and browse the internet through Firefox.

Other than the computer in his chair there was a word prediction algorithm by which Stephen could write everything easily.

Stephen was a great scientist. His wheelchair was also a great innovation. Lots of people are eager to know how this chair operated since it was a unique invention.

In this article, we are going to cover everything about Hawking’s chair. Now let us not beat around the bush anymore and get to the topic straight.

Keep reading!

About Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was an exceptional scientist of the 20th century. He overcame a lethal disability and popularised astronomy and science with his writing appearances. His imaginative mind was an inspiration for everyone.

In Sweden, he tailor-made a hi-tech wheelchair that was generated with a computer. The computer engineer took four years to build his chair to create robotic tones for Stephen.

Within 8 mph, Stephen’s wheelchair could travel 20 miles. His chair had a combination of almost all the world’s technologies.

How Does Stephen Hawking’s Chair Work? (Read To Know)

A Tablet Computer Mounted on The Chair:

In 1997, Intel® Corporation provided and sponsored a computer-based communication system for Stephen Hawking’s Chair.

There was a tablet computer mounted on Stephen Hawking’s wheelchair’s arms. This tablet computer was powered by wheelchair batteries.

Besides, the internal battery of the tablet ensures the operation of the computer smoothly. Stephen used to perform all the functions with the help of that mounted PC with just one switch. He mostly used his facial muscles to operate his devices.

EZ Keys:

There was an interface to the computer. It was controlled by a program, named EZ keys. They come with a word prediction algorithm. These EZ keys again put the software keyboard in front of the screen.

There is also a cursor that automatically scans this keyboard through rows and columns. Stephen used to control the mouse of the windows through the EZ keys.

As a result, he could operate his whole computer easily. This came from Intel which was based on Intel® Solid-State Drive 520 Series and Intel® Core™ i7 Processor.

Email, Writing, Reading, Etc:

The computer in his chair had an Eudora email client which he used to check his email. Again, he used to surf the internet from Firefox and write lectures from Notepad.

Since the computer had a notepad, Stephen used Skype to contact his friends and family.

Because of such an amazing innovation, Stephen used to express his maximum thoughts with expression, and the chair did exactly what he wanted. It was easy for Stephen to write his lectures and save them on a disk.

Infrared Switch:

Stephen Hawking used to select a character to pause the cursor. He just needed to move his cheeks for that. The infrared switch on Hawking’s spectacle detects his cheek movements. The infrared switch plays the role of the interface to the computer.

Word Prediction Algorithm:

As said before, Stephen Hawking’s Chair has a word prediction algorithm.

So Stephen used to type the first two or three letters, and the whole word appeared. After making his desired sentence, he used to send it to his speech synthesizer with the help of Equalizer software.

That hardware synthesizer was made by Speech+, named Speech Plus CallText 5010. It had a choice of multiple accents, like- American, Scandinavian, and Scottish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Made The Chair For Stephen Hawking?

The computer engineers made the chair for Stephen Hawking after toiling for four consecutive years. The synthesizer that the engineers rebuilt, created the robotic tones for Stephen Hawking.

Peter Bennie, one of his computer engineers, fixed a new system to the device. He is a specialist at Cambridge.

What Happened To Hawking’s Chair? University?

Stephen Hawking’s chair has been sold in an auction at 300,000 pounds. Some copies of his doctoral thesis were sold at almost 585,000 pounds by the auctioneer, Christie’s said Thursday.

How Did Stephen Hawking Die?

Stephen Hawking was one of the most brilliant scientists in the world. He died at the age of 76. His cause of death was ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is a neurodegenerative disease that disrupts the functions of muscles and nerves.

How Does Stephen Hawking’s Talking Machine Work?

There was a common phrase on the screen by which Stephen’s computer program used to scroll. And Hawking used to select any one of the programs for communicating.

He just needed one button to do that. When he submits a message, the speech synthesizer processes it. This speech synthesizer is known as the Speech Plus CallText 5010.

What Was Stephen Hawking’s Chair Made By?

In 1988, Stephen Hawking’s chair was made in England. It was made by BEC Mobility. The leather of the chair is maroon and red. It was prepared by Penny & Giles Drives Technology. The chair had incredible features, like- cushion support and metal footrest.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this article could give you a brief idea about Hawking’s chair. Yet if you have the question- how does Stephen Hawking’s chair work? It was through facial expression.

After spending four years manufacturing this machine, Stephen’s computer engineers could make such an amazing chair.

It has a computer mounted in it by which Stephen could do everything. Like- as checking email, browsing the internet, chatting with friends, etc. Most of his activities were performed just by moving his facial muscles.

So it’s clear that Stephen’s chair was one of the most unique and brilliant creations. So this was all about Stephen’s chair. Let us know through the comment section below if you have any queries.

Thank you.