SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 2 — Engineers from Intel Corp, a company that improves its products by fighting with the laws of physics, also had to account for a sense of humour, impatience and sensitivity in a system being unveiled today.

The chipmaker assigned a team to improve the sensors, software and computers that Professor Stephen Hawking uses to communicate with the world, meaning the group had to deal with all of those traits when they worked with the famous scientist. At an event in London, Intel is announcing the availability of free software to help the more than three million people worldwide who, like Hawking, have motor-neuron disease or quadriplegia.

The author of “A Brief History of Time,” who has been almost entirely paralysed, reached out to Intel founder Gordon Moore to ask for help upgrading the system that has replaced his lost ability to speak and write. His worsening symptoms had made him increasingly frustrated with the machinery he’s been using for decades.

“First thing, he’s very sensitive to people changing things in his setup,” said Horst Haussecker, director of Intel’s Computational Imaging Lab. “He’s almost allergic to people forcing tech on him. If you try to install anything he doesn’t like, he’ll kick you out the door.”

Faster typing

Unlike other companies that have tried to substitute in various new gadgets, Intel tried working with the scientist himself to define what he wanted before trying to plug him into new technology, Haussecker said. After more than two years of work, the University of Cambridge professor is now at least twice as fast at typing using his cheek sensor and at least 10 times as quick at common tasks such as Web browsing, editing documents and switching between tasks on his computer.

Hawking, 72, has been in the spotlight this year with the arrival of a film about his life, “The Theory of Everything.” The scientist has lived with the disease longer than most usually survive. The advanced state of his symptoms and the nature of the research and writing he does make him a extreme test for the technology.

To improve his typing, Santa Clara, California-based Intel used predictive-text software, which it trained using Hawking’s writings. While that type of software is commonplace in things like smartphones, Hawking’s version suggests “universe” as the word he’ll most likely choose after typing “the.” If he chooses “black,” the system will bet he’s going to select “hole” next.

“Medicine has not been able to cure me, so I rely on technology to help me communicate and live,” Hawking said in a comment provided by Intel. “The development of this system has the potential to improve the lives of disabled people around the world and is leading the way in terms of human interaction and the ability to overcome communication boundaries that once stood in the way.” — Bloomberg