Ameya’s work is rooted in his close family member’s loss of speech following a stroke when Ameya was seven, according to Barron Prize Winners website data.
At 17, Nashua, New Hampshire, student Ameya Kharade is working on a way to close that gap without putting a device inside the brain. Kharade developed and tested the system using about $1,800 worth of consumer electroencephalography hardware rather than an expensive surgical implant. In testing involving 111 randomized, counterbalanced trials, the system reached 65 words per minute, compared with 3 words per minute for a conventional speller using the same hardware. The results represented a roughly 20-fold improvement in speed. The system also reduced the time required to produce a message, with testing showing an average of 10.7 seconds compared with 242.2 seconds for the conventional approach. He is among the 2026 winners of the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, which honors 25 young people between the ages of 8 and 18 for significant contributions to people and the planet.
His project, called HALO-Vox, is a brain-computer interface designed to translate brain activity into speech far more quickly than conventional non-invasive systems, according to a report by Newsnet Los Angeles. For someone who can speak, putting a thought into words is almost effortless. For millions of people living with conditions such as ALS, severe stroke or paralysis, that simple act can become impossible even when the mind remains fully active. What makes the project particularly striking is its price. Scroll down to read the details. As per the Newsnet Los Angeles report, Kharade’s work has also earned recognition beyond the laboratory. For Kharade, the technology is ultimately aimed at a basic human need: giving people who cannot physically speak another way to communicate. If HALO-Vox can continue to demonstrate its early results, the project could offer a glimpse of a future where sophisticated brain-computer communication does not necessarily require a surgeon, a six-figure price tag or years of specialized equipment.