AGENCY
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1st place, UCSC AI Hackathon, Cloud AI track

Use a computer with just your eyes.

AGENCY is a free, eye-controlled computer for people who can only move their eyes, and the people who care for them. All you need is a webcam.

Try it in your browserFree. Nothing to install. Download for MacmacOS 13 or later
  • Just a webcam
  • Video stays on your computer
  • Asks before anything important
  • Help is one look away
An older woman in a wheelchair smiles while a younger man holds her hands.
AGENCY's Home on its Mac-style desktop: twelve big app tiles such as Talk, Call someone, Food and Lifeline, your usuals on the left, and a dock with Help, Home, Talk, Keyboard and Stop agent.AGENCY's Home on its Mac-style desktop: twelve big app tiles such as Talk, Call someone, Food and Lifeline, your usuals on the left, and a dock with Help, Home, Talk, Keyboard and Stop agent.
Real screenshot, 11 October 2026, demo data

Our story

It started with one grandmother.

We built AGENCY for one person first: a team member's grandmother.

Then we took it to the UCSC AI Hackathon, where it won 1st place in the Cloud AI track. Now we're turning AGENCY into a nonprofit, so it can reach more people who can only move their eyes, and the families who look after them.

It's built in the open. The source code is on GitHub for anyone to read.

1st place

UCSC AI Hackathon
Cloud AI track

The team

  • Neil Gilani
  • Rayansh “Ray” Bakshi
  • Ryan Cho

Next: How to use it

How to use it

Everything works with your eyes.

No hands, no voice and no special hardware. Here's all there is to learn.

  1. Look and hold

    Look at a button and keep looking. A ring fills up around the pointer. When it's full, the button is chosen. Look away, and nothing happens.

  2. No calibration

    The eye cursor follows your eyes as soon as the camera is on. There is nothing to set up first.

  3. Squint to scroll

    Squint, then move your head up or down to scroll a page. Open your eyes again to stop.

  4. Type with your eyes

    Look at a text box and big keys appear at the bottom of the screen. Look at each letter to type it.

  5. Help, one look away

    Help is on every screen. Look at it, or close your eyes for a second, three times. You then have 8 seconds to cancel.

  6. You stay in charge

    Before AGENCY pays, sends, signs or calls, it shows you exactly what will happen and waits for your OK.

See it work in about a minute

A recording of the real AGENCY interface, with captions. It never plays by itself. Or try it now:

Try it in your browser

Next: Who it's for

Who it's for

For people who can only move their eyes, and everyone around them.

  • A woman in a wheelchair leads a planning meeting at a whiteboard.

    For people who can only move their eyes

    Living with ALS, locked-in syndrome, a stroke or a high spinal cord injury? If your eyes still move, AGENCY lets you choose, write, talk and ask for help.

  • An older woman at home smiles at her laptop as she puts on her glasses.

    For families and caregivers

    Set AGENCY up with a mouse and keyboard in about fifteen minutes, then hand it over. Lifeline contacts need no app and no account.

  • A doctor and an older man in a wheelchair share a laugh by a window.

    For clinicians, therapists and funders

    Every feature says what works today, what is a practice version, and what hasn't been tested yet. We want to test AGENCY properly, with the people it's for.

Photos are of people who aren't AGENCY users. They're here to show who we build for.

Next: What AGENCY can do

What it can do

Everything a day needs, a few looks away.

These are real screenshots of AGENCY with practice data. Each feature says where it really stands, as of 11 October 2026.

Works today

Talk, out loud

Build a sentence from big word buttons and AGENCY says it out loud, in your own Personal Voice if you've made one on your Mac. Listen mode shows what people say in big text.

Talk: big word buttons build a sentence to speak out loud, with tabs for Phrases, Listen, History, Voice and Emergency.Talk: big word buttons build a sentence to speak out loud, with tabs for Phrases, Listen, History, Voice and Emergency.
Real screenshot, 11 October 2026, demo data

Works today

An AI helper that asks first

Say what you want with a few looks. Google's Gemini plans the steps and does them. Before anything important, it shows you exactly what will happen and waits.

Shops and services are practice versions until someone sets up real ones.

A task waiting for approval: the plan with two of four steps done, and exactly what will be paid, to whom and for what, with large Approve, Change and Decline buttons. Marked simulated.A task waiting for approval: the plan with two of four steps done, and exactly what will be paid, to whom and for what, with large Approve, Change and Decline buttons. Marked simulated.
Real screenshot, 11 October 2026, demo data

Works today

Lifeline: help when you need it

Three long blinks, or a look at Help. After 8 seconds, AGENCY contacts your people one by one until someone says “I'm on my way”. It never calls 911 by itself.

Contacts are practice phones until someone sets up real ones.

Lifeline's 8-second countdown after asking for help: AGENCY will alert Jordan unless you cancel. Cancel needs a longer look; Call now skips the wait.
Real screenshot, 11 October 2026, demo data

Works today

A calm Home that knows your usuals

Twelve big apps, from Talk and Food to Lifeline. AGENCY learns what you usually choose and offers it first. You can see, change or erase what it remembers.

AGENCY's Home on its Mac-style desktop: twelve big app tiles such as Talk, Call someone, Food and Lifeline, your usuals on the left, and a dock with Help, Home, Talk, Keyboard and Stop agent.AGENCY's Home on its Mac-style desktop: twelve big app tiles such as Talk, Call someone, Food and Lifeline, your usuals on the left, and a dock with Help, Home, Talk, Keyboard and Stop agent.
Real screenshot, 11 October 2026, demo data

Next: Safety and privacy

Safety and privacy

You stay in control. Always.

Your video never leaves your computer by default, and nothing important happens without your OK.

  • Your camera stays on your computer

    Video is processed on the device and thrown away. It's never stored and never sent.

  • Nothing important without you

    Pay, send, sign, call, delete and share wait for your OK of that exact action. Stop works from every screen.

  • Spending limits

    $50 a purchase and $100 a day by default, on top of your approval.

  • Practice first

    Out of the box, shops are practice stores and phones are simulated. Nobody real is contacted until someone sets that up.

  • No passwords in the AI's hands

    AGENCY never types, reads or keeps passwords, two-factor codes or card numbers.

  • Pages can't give orders

    Text on web pages and emails is information, never instructions. If a page tries to steer the AI, it stops and shows you.

  • Not a medical device

    AGENCY hasn't been clinically tested. Keep your existing alarms and care routines.

  • Not an emergency service

    Lifeline contacts the people you choose until one says they're coming. It never calls 911 by itself.

Read the full privacy policy, and how Lifeline is designed and tested in LIFELINE.md.

Next: Why it matters

Why it matters

Losing your voice shouldn't mean losing your say.

  • 33,000

    Americans live with ALS, by the CDC's estimate

    Source: CDC

  • 80 to 95%

    of people with ALS lose the ability to rely on speech

    Source: Beukelman et al., 2011

  • $9,646

    is what Medicare pays for one speech-generating device

    Source: CMS 2026 fee schedule

  • 3×

    as likely to suffer a preventable harm in hospital, for patients who can't communicate

    Source: Bartlett et al., CMAJ 2008

Dedicated eye-gaze systems cost thousands, and you still click every step yourself. AGENCY uses the webcam you already have, and an AI helper that finishes the job.

Next: Under the hood

Under the hood

Gemini, Synapse-Mesh and Cisco, working together.

For the technically curious: how AGENCY thinks, and how it reads your eyes.

Cloud AI that adapts to your connection

  1. Synapse-Mesh's Sifter, on the device, picks expert lenses
  2. Its Cisco sentinel measures the network
  3. Google's Gemini thinks as hard as the network allows
  • Ultra-FusionGood network. Gemini with full thinking.
  • Lean-FusionCongested. Gemini with light thinking.
  • Critical-FusionCritical. Built-in plans, at once.
  • Safe-ModeOffline. Built-in plans; Lifeline retries when back.

Built on Ray's Synapse-Mesh. When it isn't running, AGENCY's built-in stand-in router picks the mode.

Eye tracking with an ordinary webcam

  • Eye cursorThe default. Instant, with no calibration.
  • Eye gazeAdds a 5-second eye scan: a light glides, then you look at three dots.

MediaPipe finds your eyes on the device, and RealEye's open-source eye-image model reads where you look. The pointer glides smoothly, and a held button survives a blink or a quick glance away.

When two buttons are close, the AI's guess of your likely next choice breaks the tie. Never for pay, send or sign.

How AGENCY compares

How AGENCY compares with other eye-control tools and AI agents
ProductControl with your eyesNo special hardwareAn AI agent finishes the taskApprove with a look
AGENCYYes:Eye cursor or eye gazeYes:Just a webcamYes:Gemini plans and actsYes:Your OK, for that exact action
Tobii DynavoxYes:AccurateNo:$10,000+ hardwareNo:You click every stepNo:No agent
Apple Eye TrackingYes:A cursorYes:Device cameraNo:Cursor onlyNo:No agent
Microsoft Eye ControlYes:A cursorNo:Needs a Tobii trackerNo:Cursor onlyNo:No agent
OpenAI Operator, Gemini agentsNo:Built for typing or talkingYes:Any computerYes:YesNo:Built for typing or talking
Google Look to SpeakYes:Picks phrasesYes:Phone cameraNo:Talking onlyNo:No agent

Based on each product's own public description, October 2026.

Next: Get started

Ready when you are.

Try AGENCY in your browser right now, or download the Mac app. Both are free.

Try it in your browserFree. Nothing to install. Download for MacmacOS 13 or later

Setting it up for someone? Read the setup guide.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a special eye tracker?

No. AGENCY works with an ordinary webcam, like the one in a MacBook. The eye cursor works as soon as the camera is on, with no setup. Eye gaze adds a 5-second eye scan: a light glides across the screen, then you look at three dots.

Webcam eye tracking is approximate, so AGENCY uses big, well-spaced buttons, a pointer that glides instead of jittering, and holds that survive a blink. Dedicated eye trackers aren't supported yet.

Can I try it before installing anything?

Yes. “Try it in your browser” opens the real AGENCY interface in your web browser, with practice services. It needs a webcam. Camera video is processed in your browser and never sent anywhere.

What if eye tracking doesn't work well for me?

AGENCY also works with a single switch (one button or a long blink, with choices highlighted in turn), with a head pointer, and with a mouse or keyboard for a helper.

Will it do things without asking me?

Not anything that matters. Paying, sending, signing, calling, deleting and sharing your details all need your approval of the exact action, and spending is capped at $50 a purchase and $100 a day by default. Stop halts everything at once, from any screen.

Does Lifeline call 911?

No. AGENCY never contacts emergency services by itself. Lifeline contacts the people you choose, and keeps contacting them until one of them says they're coming. They can call for an ambulance. Lifeline is not an emergency service and not a medical alarm, and it doesn't replace your ventilator's alarms.

Is my camera video uploaded anywhere?

No. Camera frames are processed on your computer and thrown away. They are never stored and never sent anywhere, including to the AI.

What does the AI see?

Only what a task you started needs: the text of your request and, when the agent has to look, the app it's working in. Screenshots aren't kept by default. Text on web pages, emails and documents is treated as information, never as instructions.

AI tasks need a Google Gemini API key, and Google's terms apply to what's sent. Without a key, AGENCY runs its built-in plans only.

What happens when the internet is bad?

Every AI request goes through Synapse-Mesh, whose Cisco sentinel measures the network first. A good network gets Gemini with full thinking, a congested one gets lighter thinking, and a critical one gets AGENCY's built-in plans at once. Offline, Lifeline keeps its messages and retries when the connection is back.

Does it cost anything?

Downloading AGENCY costs nothing, and there's nothing to buy here. If you use AI tasks, Google bills the account whose Gemini API key you use.

Is it a medical device?

No. AGENCY is not a medical device, a ventilator alarm or an emergency service, and it hasn't been clinically tested. It hasn't yet been evaluated with the people it's built for; that study is the next big piece of work.

Does it work on Windows, iPad or Linux?

The Mac app needs a Mac for now, because it relies on macOS accessibility features to work in every app. The browser version runs in a desktop web browser. Tell us what you'd use, and we'll write back if that changes.

Something else? Talk to us on GitHub