Most of us are familiar with the synthetic voice that the famous physicist Stephen Hawking used to communicate. Suffering for many decades from the debilitating disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Hawking continued working, unravelling the mysteries of black holes and sharing his insights in books and public appearances. Despite the misfortune of living with such a severe condition, he had access to cutting-edge technology that allowed him to remain professionally and socially active. Unfortunately, not all patients share this opportunity.

Under the PRR-funded project Center for Responsible AI, in which INESC-ID is a key participant, Unbabel has developed Halo—a ground-breaking technology designed to restore the ability to communicate for patients living with ALS and similar conditions. This innovative device won the Prémio Inovação – Pedro Oliveira, awarded by Exame Informática during the “Os Melhores & As Maiores do Portugal Tecnológico 2024” ceremony.

As described, “the solution consists of a muscle signal reader—essentially a band that can be worn on the head, which uses electromyography to detect fine muscle contractions—and Artificial Intelligence software that incorporates information about the user, such as personality, preferences, or their surrounding environment. Based on this system, which is continuously ‘fed’ with data from both the user and those around them, a persona is created. This persona generates response suggestions to questions posed to the user, which are then presented in audio form. The user selects the most appropriate response by moving their forehead muscles. Since the system converts text to speech for a more natural interaction, it is possible to use the patient’s own voice—either pre-recorded before the progression of the disease or retrieved from older audio recordings.” So that more patients may continue to have a voice.

Every year, Exame Informática honors the best advancements in Portugal’s scientific and technological fields. As senior AI researcher at Unbabel Labs Catarina Farinha remarked, “with more recognition comes more responsibility to keep pushing and doing better.”