From Stuttering to Cyborgs: Tomás Vega Tech Journey
At the age of five, Tomás Vega SM ’19 began to stutter. This early experience with a speech impediment gave him a deep understanding of the challenges associated with disabilities and highlighted the significant role technology could play in overcoming these barriers.
“Using a keyboard and mouse became my way of communicating,” Vega explains. “These tools allowed me to express myself fluently. This experience drove my fascination with human augmentation and the idea of cyborgs. It also made me more empathetic, as I believe our empathy is shaped by our personal experiences.”
Vega has been committed to enhancing human capabilities through technology ever since. He started learning to program at the age of 12, and by high school, he was already helping individuals with disabilities, including those with hand impairments and multiple sclerosis. During his time at the University of California, Berkeley, and later at MIT, Vega developed technologies designed to assist people with disabilities in living more independently.
Today, Vega is the co-founder and CEO of Augmental, a startup focused on creating technologies that help people with movement impairments interact seamlessly with their digital devices.
Augmental’s first product, the MouthPad, enables users to control their computers, smartphones, or tablets through tongue and head movements. The device features a pressure-sensitive touch pad that sits on the roof of the mouth and, in conjunction with motion sensors, translates these gestures into cursor movements and clicks in real-time via Bluetooth.
“Our brains have a large area devoted to controlling the tongue,” Vega notes. “The tongue has eight muscles, predominantly slow-twitch fibers that don’t tire easily. I thought, why not harness that capability?”
People with spinal cord injuries are already using the MouthPad to independently interact with their devices. One user, a college student with quadriplegia studying math and computer science, has found the device invaluable for writing formulas and studying in places where speech-based assistive devices aren’t practical.
“Now she can take notes in class, play games with friends, watch movies, and read books,” Vega says. “Her mother told us that receiving the MouthPad was the most significant moment since her injury.”
Augmental’s goal is to make technology more accessible, allowing individuals with severe impairments to use phones and tablets as effectively as those using their hands.
In 2012, as a freshman at UC Berkeley, Vega met his future Augmental co-founder, Corten Singer. Vega was determined to join MIT’s Media Lab, a goal he achieved four years later by joining the Fluid Interfaces research group led by Pattie Maes.
“I only applied to one grad program: the Media Lab,” Vega says. “I felt it was the best place to pursue my passion for augmenting human abilities.”
At the Media Lab, Vega took courses in microfabrication, signal processing, and electronics, and developed wearable devices to help people access information, improve sleep, and regulate emotions.
“The Media Lab was like Disneyland for makers,” Vega says. “I could experiment and apply my engineering and neuroscience knowledge freely.”
Initially drawn to brain-machine interfaces, an internship at Neuralink made Vega reconsider. “Brain implants have immense potential but face long development timelines. I needed immediate solutions for my friends.”
Vega decided to develop a solution with the benefits of brain implants but without the long development timelines. In his final semester at MIT, he created a sensor-equipped “lollipop” to test mouth-based computer interaction, which worked exceptionally well.
“I called Corten and said, ‘This could change lives,’” Vega recalls. “It could revolutionize how humans interact with computers.”
Using MIT resources like the Venture Mentoring Service and the MIT I-Corps program, and with early funding from MIT’s E14 Fund, Augmental was founded when Vega graduated in 2019.
Each MouthPad is custom-designed using a 3D model of the user’s mouth, 3D printed with dental-grade materials, and equipped with electronic components. Users can navigate their devices by sliding their tongue, clicking with sipping gestures, or using head movements.
“Augmental aims to create a multimodal interface accommodating various conditions,” Vega says.
Many of Augmental’s current users have spinal cord injuries and use the MouthPad daily for up to nine hours. “It has seamlessly integrated into their lives, providing immense value,” Tomas notes.
Augmental seeks FDA clearance to enable functions like controlling wheelchairs and robotic arms, making the product more accessible through insurance reimbursements. The company is also developing a system responding to whispers and subtle movements, crucial for users with impaired lung function.
Vega is optimistic about AI and hardware advancements. “We hope to offer a robust, private interface to intelligence, the most expressive hands-free operating system humans have created,” Tomas envisions.
Follow for more.
