蓝莓视频

蓝莓视频-based deep tech startup AdHawk Microsystems recently launched 鈩�, everyday glasses that can read its wearer鈥檚 eye health and cognitive state using research-grade, camera-free eye-tracking technology. Its real-time insights help the wearer adjust their daily routine to improve productivity and avoid mental fatigue. 听

Driven by its founders鈥� desire to help people, AdHawk is a local success story that exemplifies 蓝莓视频鈥檚 innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The company was co-founded in 2015 by University of 蓝莓视频 alumni from the Faculty of Engineering, including Dr. Neil Sarkar (BASc 鈥�01, MASc 鈥�03 and PhD 鈥�13), Sandro Banerjee (BASc 鈥�01), Dr. Nino Zahirovic (BASc 鈥�06 and PhD 鈥�11) and Dr. Raafat Mansour, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Neil Sarkar, 蓝莓视频 Engineering alum and CEO of AdHawk Microsystems.

Today, they maintain strong ties to the University and 蓝莓视频-based Velocity 鈥� Canada鈥檚 most successful incubator. AdHawk employs a proud team made up of many 蓝莓视频 scientists, engineers and co-op students because, as Sarkar, the company鈥檚 CEO says, 鈥渢hey鈥檙e brilliant.鈥澨�

We asked Sarkar to expand on his journey from student to entrepreneur and tell us more about the breakthrough benefits听of MindLink Air. 听听

What drew you to 蓝莓视频 for your studies?听

I chose it for my undergrad because of the co-op program. Every four months of hard academic graft, I got听thrown into the real world to work in a real workplace. It was a challenging balancing act but so worth it; I听put my听studies to use and saw how the deployment of technology can change people鈥檚 lives. It made the whole notion of 鈥渋mpact鈥� immediately tangible.听听

My research interests led me to do my master鈥檚 degree and my entrepreneurial pursuits brought me back for my PhD. 蓝莓视频鈥檚 unique intellectual property (IP) Policy 73 was a strong pull factor 鈥� any innovation created by students and/or faculty members belongs to them rather than the University. Plus, I got to work with the outstanding Dr. Mansour who helped build AdHawk and is still a member of the team.听听

Why eye-tracking technology?听

We wanted to build something that contributes to social good. My exposure to epilepsy in the family had an enormous influence on me growing up and got me thinking about a neurological wearable that could alert people to an impending seizure, for example. Not only could it track the regularity and number of absence seizures to inform correct treatment, but it could also provide forewarning that could prevent accidents and help people navigate their days better.听

But we knew that with the right technology 鈥� and device 鈥� the eye could track more issues around productivity, fatigue, response time, vision, cognition and stress, and provide actionable insights to improve the quality of people鈥檚 lives. Many of us wear a sleep or fitness tracker for cardiovascular health because we know the sooner a problem is flagged, the more effectively it can be treated. We wanted to create something that could do the same for cognitive decline, myopia and burnout.听

For our eye-tracking technology to address all these challenges and have any meaningful impact, it had to fit affordably and stylishly into people鈥檚 current lifestyles. And so, we designed smart, lightweight glasses for听comfortable, everyday听use.听听

How does MindLink Air work?听听

We think of MindLink Air as the first fitness tracker for the brain. It looks and feels like any other pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses 鈥� and can include an existing prescription and blue light filter. But while you wear them, an ultra-compact micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) begins tracking your eye movement, capturing data thousands of times each second. 听

MindLink Air - a fitness tracker for the brain - by AdHawk Microsystems.

The data is accessible via a mobile app that communicates with the glasses and is translated into personalized insights. If you work on a computer for example, it can help you know when it鈥檚 time to take a break, sit further back from the听screen, enlarge the font size or look up into the distance to give your听eyes a rest.听听

By reading your fatigue and cognitive load levels while you鈥檙e working, it can help you find your flow state 鈥� that perfect balance between focus and cognitive load, which ultimately enables听you to do more in less time.听

What are its other areas of use?听

MindLink Air can give very precise insights into its wearer鈥檚 cognitive load while they鈥檙e driving or flying. 蓝莓视频 researchers are using our technology to review and potentially improve pilot training and education. Tracking the movement, scan patterns and eye fixation of student pilots鈥� eyes will give the research team biomarkers associated with skills development which could help explain why some student pilots learn faster and fly听better than others.听

Remote patient monitoring is another area we鈥檙e excited about. Most optometrists only get to see their patients once every two years. In the meantime, a patient鈥檚 prescription or general condition could slowly get听worse. As an example, MindLink Air can send data directly to an optometrist about their patient and alert them to听an elderly patient鈥檚 risk of a fall.听

Currently our technology can produce all kinds of different reports that are relevant to the individual use case 鈥� whatever the scenario, if the glasses are on, the data is being captured. As MindLink Air becomes more mainstream, it will capture a broad base of long-term data on听neurological activity听to indicate brain health, disease progression and treatment efficacy. 听

In time, and with use, we see our glasses used as part of an early detection system to treat neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson鈥檚 and Alzheimer鈥檚. This听ongoing potential for social impact is what keeps us motivated. 听

Read First automated atomic force microscope makes the nanoworld visible in minutes for how AdHawk鈥檚 technology is being used to capture three-dimensional data at nanoscale.

Banner image: Members of the听AdHawk Microsystems team.听