DIY Hero Makes the Impossible, Possible

Every once in a while, you read or hear about something that takes your breath away. Something that reminds you that despite all the bad news and craziness that whirls around us on a daily basis, there is a lot of good to be found in the in-between. Mick Ebeling and his team are a great example.

Ebeling, a film and television producer, is the founder of the Not Impossible Foundation, which aims to solve some of life’s more challenging problems by bringing together creative innovators, inventors, and curious minds.

Photo: Mick Ebeling

When Ebeling heard the story of Tony “Tempt One” Quan, a leading graffiti artist in the 80’s, who lost the ability to create his art when ALS claimed his body and paralyzed him nearly completely, he asked himself “If not now, when? If not me, then who?”

Since Quan only retained the use of his eyes, Ebeling strove to create device to access his talent with what was left under his control. Thus the invention of the Eyewriter, an inexpensive DIY contraption, that enables communication and artistic expression with eye-tracking technology and a cheap pair of plastic sunglasses.

Photo: Mick Ebeling 

A collaborative effort between Free Art and Technology, OpenFrameworks and the Graffiti Research Lab with the support of the Ebeling Group, the Eyewriter is an open source invention, which is freely accessible for the general public to create.

Photo: Eyewriter.org

Ebeling states “from the very first device we made (the Eyewriter) we believed that freedom of expression, communication, mobility, etc is not something that someone should have to “qualify for” by way of insurance or income. Those things are inalienable rights that all humans are entitled to without bureaucratic entanglement.” And we applaud him and the creative team behind this invention for that. The Eyewriter gave Tony Quan the gift of reclaiming access to his passion and allowed him to draw once again.

Photo: Eyewriter.org

The Ebeling Group continues in its efforts to problem solve and create for those in need with endeavors such as 3D prosthetic printing for amputees in Sudan and inexpensive exoskeletons to help cerebral palsy patients walk.

Photo: Not Impossible Labs

Giving people the tools to DIY their way towards a better and richer life has become Ebeling’s mission.

If you’re in the mood for a little more inspiration you can pick up his new book Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn’t Be Done.

Photo: Mick Ebeling

We, too, find ourselves asking “if not now, when? If not me, then who?”