We hit 10,000 subscribers on YouTube!
We did it — 10,000 subscribers! Thank you, every one of you. I’ll be making a thank-you video this weekend, and I’m trying to do something special to celebrate. Stay tuned!
2026
Back from Bay Area Maker Faire 2026
Just got back from Bay Area Maker Faire, and it was amazing. I got to spend time with two of my daughters, and I got to meet, talk with, and be interviewed by Massimo Banzi, co-founder of the Arduino project.
I showed off my Arduino UNO Q eye-tracking software, my entry for DigiKey’s #UNOQDreamLab, and over 100 people tested it and contributed training data. The full project write-up is on Maker.io: Eye Tracking For Special Needs with Uno Q. I had a variety of T-Rex Talker AAC devices on display and two tables of interactive assistive devices, and nothing broke. We also received an Editor’s Choice award.
I talked with the MakeGood folks about working together on a project. I met a lot of amazing makers and shared ideas, and I talked with many neurodivergent people. I believe we found a few more people with unmet needs to help over the next year.
Saw some amazing projects, and ran myself to exhaustion.
What the eye-tracking data said
- 125 people sat down and trained the eye tracker — 2,413 throws, mostly kids, nobody briefed. (Plenty more played at the booth’s other stations.)
- 87% reached a median of 10° or better; about 10% got nothing — and the data shows why: past ~20° of head turn, tracking stops.
- One father held his daughter’s head still and her run beat every number I’d recorded on myself. If the head doesn’t move, we have great eye tracking.
- After I got home, for the Maker.io contest: head pointing with a printed tag on glasses — near-perfect, 0 losses in 359 frames.
Conclusions
Webcam eye tracking on the UNO Q works for big targets (one box of a 4×2 grid). With the head still, eye tracking is great; past ~20° of head turn, it stops; light is the biggest lever (a red LED lamp made gaze 3.2× steadier); and the simple seven-parameter model beat the fancy one.
Future plans
GPU acceleration on the UNO Q (everything so far ran on the CPU — our GPU-capable pipeline crashed in testing and the deadline won); two NoIR cameras on a dual-CSI carrier board with 850 nm IR (we knew two cameras would be better from the start; Massimo Banzi told us how to connect them); head tracking as its own input and as head-movement correction for the eyes; sip-and-puff and rubber-chicken throwing; telling users when they’ve drifted; and a possible project with MakeGood.
👍 Please give it a thumbs up on Maker.io — click the like button next to the title (free DigiKey login). Every like helps more people find it.
Almost 10,000 subscribers on YouTube!
We’re about to hit 10,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel, and that is amazing! I have a bunch of videos in the works, but I’m getting ready to move. I’ll have a little bit of a YouTube studio setup at the new place to make it easier. But in the meantime — busy, busy!
Life’s been a rollercoaster since Open Sauce
Well… my life has been a rollercoaster since Open Sauce.
The ups
- Open Sauce was amazing. First time on that floor, first time debuting the Rubber Chicken Challenge, first time meeting a lot of people I’ve only known through screens.
- I started ADHD medication and it’s making a serious difference. Strangely, my vision has more resolution, and it’s much easier for me to process what people are saying to me.
- I had a fantastic long weekend with my daughters.
- We passed 5,000 subscribers on the YouTube channel. I owe you some videos — they’re coming.
- I’ve biked over 140 miles for cancer research this month.
The downs
I’ve been fighting my apartment management for a month and my productivity has been way down. Trying hard to climb out of automaton-productivity mode. It will resolve after Bay Area Maker Faire — but it’s unnecessary stress, and it just won’t resolve.
Thanks for being here through both halves of the ride.
Destin Sandlin from Smarter Every Day stopped by the booth
Destin swung by the R.O.A.R. booth at Open Sauce — great conversation about the T-Rex Talker, the Sip-N-Puff, and the Rubber Chicken Challenge. Several new videos will be posted this week — keep an eye on the channel.
Our YouTube channel hit 5,000 subscribers!
Was not expecting that — genuinely floored. Thank you to every single one of you. Every subscriber, every comment, every share means the assistive-device work reaches more of the families and clinicians and makers who can use it.
A special’ish video is coming soon to mark the occasion. Stay subscribed and hit the bell — you know the drill.
Low-Cost Air Isolator for sip-and-puff — new open-source drop
New GitHub repo: LowCostAirIsolator — an open, low-cost, latex-free breath/sensor isolator for sip-and-puff assistive devices. The prototype V0.1 includes 3D-printable front & rear shells (STL), a cost model, a fabrication brief PDF, and geometry drawings.
Plastics and CAD design by Josh (@JoshDesigns on YouTube, @Joshuaua on GitHub). Idea, research, and testing by T-Rex. Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free to share and adapt for non-commercial use, commercial licensing available via main@tssfaa.com.
Bunny Feeding Frenzy is live on Google Play and the App Store
Debuted at Open Sauce 2026 alongside the T-Rex Rubber Chicken Challenge — and now it’s live and free on both Android and iPhone. Grab it from either store and start feeding bunnies.
iOS launch update: Bunny Feeding Frenzy is now on the App Store — free game, no ads, by yours truly. It’s even fun ;P. If you like it, please leave a review — thank you!
Best of all: in the stim version of the game you throw carrots by saying “Pew.” You do have to enable tilt + voice in Settings first — but still, “Pew” to throw. How cool is that?
Videos and pictures from Open Sauce — coming soon
It was a great industry day — got to have some really good one-on-one conversations with a bunch of amazing makers and industry people. The livestream test worked, but the answer is no, not something we’ll be doing regularly. Will be returning next year.
Full video + photo recap coming soon.
Build guides — Build-a-Box is ready; MVP and 4+1 are next
A decent Build-a-Box guide is ready right now — full step-by-step assembly photos. Coming soon: build guides for the MVP and the 4+1 button + rotary encoder V3 box.
Rubber Chicken Challenge — the booth is real
SendCutSend metal parts arrived right on schedule and the T-Rex Rubber Chicken Challenge booth is fully assembled. Sip-N-Puff sits in its orange T-Rex enclosure, three rubber chickens are standing by, and the base is engraved “Thank you Prusa · SendCutSend”.
Earlier — June 2026: the booth design was finished; below are the original renders for reference.
Hardware received — testing and integration begins!
The full set of production prototype boards is in hand. Populating, bring-up, and integration are now underway.
What’s in the box:
- T-Rex Talker V3 — Autistic Stim variation main board
- Processor board — the shared brain, stacks with the Nonverbal daughter
- Involuntary Nonverbal daughter board — stacks under the processor board
- Sip-N-Puff V1.2
- plus the shared SEESAW daughterboard used across the V3 family
Next up: populating boards, bench bring-up, and starting the integration work — first units for the MVP test groups after that.
Album: New PCB day — Jun 30, 2026 →
Earlier in June: the boards were sent to fab. Original renderings for reference:
Interviewed on the CircuitPython Podcast
A long-form conversation about R.O.A.R., open-source AAC, and building the T-Rex Talker on CircuitPython. The interview also picked up a “Hug Report” shout-out in the Adafruit CircuitPython Weekly Meeting notes for 2026-06-01.
Selected for Bay Area Maker Faire — again!
We’re back at Bay Area Maker Faire in Vallejo for 2026. After Editor’s Choice in 2025, we’re returning with the full R.O.A.R. lineup — T-Rex Talker V3, the new sip-and-puff, and a lot more devices to put in people’s hands.
Bunny Feeding Frenzy — a pixel-art trainer for the Sip-N-Puff
What started as a baseball cap for testing the 9-axis sensor on the Sip-N-Puff turned into a Duck-Hunt-inspired game called Bunny Feeding Frenzy. It’ll be part of the autistic stim interactive software — and it’s actually pretty fun.
Free game — coming soon to T-Rex Talker Stim Edition, Windows, Linux, and Android. Mac and iOS may come later depending on demand.
Building 30-50 Autism Stim Devices with American Legion Post 468
An autistic-stim variation of the V3 hardware. The hardware is laid out, plastics are designed, PCBs are on the way, and a Build A Stim Device instruction set is coming. Working with American Legion Post 468 (Julian, CA) for the charity build.
Sip-N-Puff is up and running
A working alpha/beta of the open-source sip and puff switch is built and has been used to operate the T-Rex Talker V3. One build, many purposes — the same hardware will reconfigure for many uses (USB mouse, two-switch keyboard, Xbox Adaptive Controller input) by editing a plain text file on the device’s USB drive. No reflashing, no IDE.
Version 3.0 is live on GitHub
Fully compatible with all hardware from Version 2.0 onwards. We’ve also introduced two no-soldering build options — all you need are two specific parts from Amazon and a 3D printer to get started.
From workshop to PhD research
I’m in Chiang Mai in part to discuss the possibility of doing my PhD work at Chiang Mai University. Right now it isn’t PhD work yet — so I wrote a document about how it becomes PhD work and why that is important.
I started with a passionate document and then iterated with Gemini for an academic version. Feedback is appreciated — thank you.
AAC Device and Personal Update
Testing speakers, motors, screens for next version.
I want to apologize for dropping out for a bit. I had some disruptions that were not inherently bad, but I don’t like change. Specifically, I had some emergency dental surgery and changes to my living arrangements that took up a lot of my time and energy.
I am going to try and start making more videos with a goal of 2 a month, but I won’t be committing to a set schedule. I’ve got a lot of things to talk about and share, from lessons of being an autistic adult to building special needs devices.
I have a bunch of little projects I’ve built that I need to release as open source:
- An over-engineered, multi-purpose USB night light that doubles as a volume control for PCs.
- My custom mini-ITX NAS server box.
- A Christmas tree topper.
- And so many more things.
AAC Device Projects and Goals
I am actively building 30 devices to be given away to autistic children for stim / education purposes as part of a charity drive.
I am also looking for test groups for the next version of my AAC devices:
- Test group of 10 or more people for my pocket-sized AAC device.
- Test group of 9 or more people for my next version of medium-sized AAC device for limited mobility.
Regarding the next versions of my devices, I currently have 3 of 4 PCBs that I need designed. My plan is to send all of them off for production in the next month.
Funding and Support
I do have a full-time job that thankfully allows me to do all this traveling and not only pays my bills but leaves me with enough left over to fund these projects. I have gotten some initial sponsorships and hope to expand those relationships to be able to build more devices for people in need.
Call to Action
I am currently looking for:
- Individuals who can benefit from these AAC devices.
- People to join the team and help with these projects.
If you are interested in sponsoring future events or device builds, please contact me through my channel.
