The Twitch Streamer Using Face Recognition to Make Video Games More Accessible

Squirelo’s passion for accessibility is twofold. While adaptive hardware like the Xbox Adaptive Controller and PlayStation’s Access Controller offer customization through different buttons, switches, sticks, and button placement, disabled players are still limited to aspects like desk space, individual strength and energy levels, and even their finances. Thanks to PlayAbility, I can use a larger number of buttons immediately with a simple movement of the face.” Poch’s experience of buying numerous devices to find the right solution speaks to an issue every disabled person encounters in gaming: the cost of playing. And while the cost of PlayAbility is an expense that disabled players must account for, it pales in comparison to finding an adaptive hardware setup that may not even work as an individual's disabilities progress. In some of the program’s promotional materials, PlayAbility refers to the technology used as “cutting-edge AI,” but Squirelo admits the technology behind the software isn’t the high-powered stuff people think of when they hear “AI” these days.