Famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking can now communicate with the world faster courtesy ofn ew technology from Intel and SwiftKey that replaced the decades' old technology Hawking uses for his computerized voice.

Hawking, who is the author of best-selling book "A Brief History in Time", is afflicted with ALS or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative motor neuron disease that left him almost entirely paralyzed.

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As a result, he relies on a computer to speak and write. He says his old system is already 20 years-old and that he's finding it difficult to communicate in a more effective manner and ultimately do the things he loves.

Hawking is awed by the new software that allows him to speak easier and write faster. He continues to give lectures and writes more papers and books and, of course, meets with family and friends in a more relaxed manner.

He says this new system is life changing for him and he hopes this device will serve him well in the next 20 years.

Intel has been working on a new platform called ACAT (Assistive Context Aware Toolkit), which it developed over the past three years in collaboration with Hawking.

This new system works by utilizing an infrared switch attached to Hawking's glasses. This device doubled his speech rate and speeded-up common tasks like finding files in the computer, said Intel Labs engineer, Lama Nachman.

In addition, the system uses text algorithms developed by U.K. based software company, SwiftKey, similar to the ones on smartphones. After typing 10 to 15 percent of a word or phrase, the algorithm auto-completes a message.

The software will be made available to the public early 2015 to help those suffering from motor neuron diseases, quadriplegia and other similar disabilities. Hawking believes this technology has the greatest potential to improve the lives of disabled people.

There is one thing Hawking didn't change after getting this software upgrade, however. He specified that his distinct computerized voice with a North American accent should still stay the same.

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