ONLY ON ABC7NEWS.COM: Eye tracking tech company going public

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- There's a big announcement from a company helping those who lost their ability to speak or write.

It's a story you'll see only on ABC7 News.

In the movie "The Theory of Everything," Professor Stephen Hawking tries out the device that will give him back his voice. Years later, the real-life Hawking, who suffers from ALS, uses a custom-built computer to talk using cheek twitches and eye movements.

"It's a beautiful example where technology provides a brilliant mind to still be brilliant even though he is, in some senses, limited by his disability," Tobii Technology founder John Elvesjo said.

Removing those limits is what Elvesjo is all about. ABC7 News got an exclusive look at the amazing technology created by his Swedish company, Tobii.

Elvesjo's eye tracking technology was born from a lab experiment using infrared sensors. Fifteen years later, Tobii is using that technology to give people back their independence.

Now Tobii has announced it's going public on NASDAQ's Swedish Stock Exchange.