MyoVoice: A Low-Cost Facial EMG Wearable for Nonverbal Communication
CWSF · 2026 Health & Wellness
Overview
For over 440,000 Canadians living with severe speech impairments caused by neuromuscular conditions, communication is reduced to waiting for someone to interpret a movement that may never be understood. Traditional assistive technologies, such as eye-tracking systems and brain-computer interfaces, often cost $5,000–$15,000 and can be unreliable. In contrast, this project introduces an affordable, non-invasive solution: MyoVoice, a wearable EMG-based interface priced at approximately $230 that allows users to communicate via facial muscle signals. The breakthrough is achieved through a novel signal-processing pipeline, in which Gesture-Onset Extraction isolates true muscle activations from noise and a temporal confidence fusion method stabilizes predictions in real time. Using a Random Forest classifier, the system achieves about 99% accuracy under controlled conditions. Unlike existing systems that require extensive calibration, this device adapts rapidly to new users and operates continuously via an integrated AAC interface, offering a transformative solution for restoring communication.
Awards (1)
- Selected for CWSF 2026
Competition history
- CWSF 2026
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