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Personalised communication
Sarah Ezekiel uses Smartbox’s Grid Pad, an augmentative and alternative communication device operated through eye gaze. ElevenLabs, an AI voice platform, recreated her voice from one line of speech recorded in an old video, giving her a more personal way to communicate than a robotic-sounding voice.
Technology and creative independence
Ezekiel was diagnosed with MND in April 2000 while pregnant with her second child, and later lost the use of her hands as symptoms progressed. She began using assistive technology in 2005 and started creating art with eye-gaze technology in 2012. Her work has since been exhibited in the UK and internationally.
A wider role for assistive technology
In 2023, Ezekiel directed and co-created Ms MaNDy’s Adventures in Wonderland, a multimedia drag theatre production inspired by her experiences of MND. She used her Grid Pad to help direct and AI-generated art to help design costumes. The recreated voice also means her children, who were too young to remember it, can hear her voice again. ElevenLabs voices are available free to Smartbox Grid users aged 18 and over.
