Football fan Will Clark has had the world’s first mouth-controlled Playstation built for him after suffering a horrific spinal injury.
Will, 30, suffered a tragic cycling accident during a triathlon in 2012 that left him paralysed from the neck down. As an avid Man Utd fan and sportsman, Will thought his days of enjoying the beautiful game were over. That’s when technology stepped in.
In his personal gaming chair, Will can move the controller joystick with his chin, and other buttons with small movements in his shoulders. He’s able to play FIFA against his mates as well as some driving games, and is working with the company that built the chair, Special Effects, so he can play first person shooters like COD.
Will says:
The controller itself, if adapted, can do as much as you want it to as the wires from it will connect to all the buttons. The only thing that limits me is the number of buttons I can press. We are looking at using the back of my head to operate the second analogue stick on the controller, but are running into a few issues at the moment. Fortunately I can play the likes of Fifa and driving games as they have two button modes. But I hear that the PlayStation 4 has the potential for voice commands which would mean that I could play games like Call of Duty.
Will is currently preparing for a 100-mile cycle on a specially made Boma battery-powered bike that can be steered with his chin. He’s raising money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service who helped treat him at the site of his accident. All the best Will, you’re an inspiration.
Mark is the Gaming Editor for UNILAD. Having grown up a gaming addict, he’s been deeply entrenched in culture and spends time away from work playing as much as possible. Mark studied music at University and found a love for journalism through going to local gigs and writing about them for local and national publications.