ReadBuddy

Eye tracking contraption
Pupil detection
Story selection
Login page

Inspiration

The inspiration for ReadBuddy stems from a disheartening reality: one in six Canadian children, that is roughly one million people who struggle with reading, with 18% scoring below literacy benchmarks. For a seven-year-old, this means every word feels like a puzzle they can't solve, leading to poor comprehension and frustration. This where ReadBuddy comes in to bridge this gap, offering a supportive, non-judgmental, and effective solution to empower these children to build literacy and confidence.

What it does

ReadBuddy is a reading app that monitors, learns, and intervenes in real-time. It uses an eye camera contraption to employ Eye-Tracking Technology, detecting patterns of struggle like fixations (staring at a word for too long) which signals the user is stuck. The app immediately offers assistance: first by providing the definition of the word, then by breaking it into syllables (e.g., "to-geth-er"), and finally by reading it aloud with text-to-speech. This proactive support prevents frustration, and helps children to decode words correctly, transforming a daunting task into a supported learning experience.