Teen who helped improve tech for disabled honoured

Image source, Bob Sagoo Image caption, Harchie Sagoo developed acquired cerebral palsy (CP) following a family holiday in Spain By Jonathan Holmes Reporting from Bristol Published 9 July 2026 A young man who was left with acquired cerebral palsy (CP) following a family holiday, has had a new laboratory in Bristol named after him. Harchie Sagoo, who passed away in 2024 at the age of 18, was just a few months old when he developed CP after contracting viral encephalitis in Spain. Despite his movement and speech being affected by CP his father, Bob Sagoo, said he "understood everything" and by the age of four-and-a-half he was using eye-tracking technology to control his devices and communicate. As a key product tester for Bristol-based Smartbox, which creates technology to help people with disabilities to communicate, the company has now named its new testing laboratory Harchie's Lab. More from Bristol Future of East Bristol traffic scheme to be decided Published 1 day ago Warning as heatwave sparks record 999 ambulance calls Published 3 days ago Tower block evacuation report 'not answering questions' Published 2 days ago Harchie's dad, who lives in Nottingham, said his son was born a healthy baby. But following a visit to his parents in Spain, his son was left with lesions on his brain which affected his gross and fine motor movement and his speech. "He had no cognitive disability so he understood everything," he said. "I felt technology was going to bridge that gap for him to engage with people and also to move on in life." At infant school, he started using Eye Gaze - which tracks a user's eye movements so they can navigate a screen. And as he got older, he not only used an Eye Gaze tablet to communicate but also to control things around the family home like the lights, the heating and the televisions. It also allowed him to "learn and develop and grow" and "meet friends" at both mainstream school and college. "Harch looked at it as an extension of himself but also a lifestyle device," his father said. "So he used it to control the environment around him including turning the shower cold - when I was in the shower." Image caption, Bob Sagoo said his son Harchie would be "absolutely psyched" to discover a testing lab was named after him In 2014 Harchie started working with the Smartbox team, where he not only got involved in testing their latest devices but also "gave some really valuable feedback" which they built into the final design. Before his death Harchie said being able to "express" himself, express how he was feeling and show he understands had "been very important" to him. His father said that his son would have been "absolutely psyched" that the company's new laboratory was being named in his honour. "When I got wind that this was what they were planning, we were just blown away," he said. Image source, Bob Sagoo Image caption, Before his death Harchie said being able to "express" himself had "been very important" to him Smartbox's pro