Voice control? That's so 2010. The future of mobile computing is... well, I have no idea what it is, but Danish startup company The Eye Tribe would like you to think that it's eye tracking. And not the simple, on-off tracking demonstrated in the latest versions of Samsung's TouchWiz - their hardware can track eye movements with enough precision to replicate a finger tap or mouse cursor. Check out the video below:
Want the money shot? Skip to 3:00.
That guy is slicing fruit in Fruit Ninja with his eyes. He's like some incredible wizard who really hates oranges. The applications for browsing the web and other standard apps seems a little forced, but the idea of unlocking your screen without touching it makes at least as much sense as Google's own facial recognition solution. While the demo uses custom hardware plugged into a Galaxy Note II, it's really just a high-resolution camera with a complex software layer, which is something that could easily be integrated into upcoming devices. This combination brings a level of speed and accuracy that we haven't seen on a mobile platform.
The Eye Tribe is hoping that the eye-tracking technology demonstrated in the Gaze Suite can be integrated with existing and upcoming software on both mobile platforms and desktops. While the Android version of Gaze UI is still in an early stage, the company is already taking pre-orders for the Eye Tribe Tracker, a $99 USB 3.0 sensor bar that enables this sort of control on Windows PCs. The package includes a developer kit and SDK. Hopefully they'll have more information about the mobile equivalent soon.
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK--(Marketwired - Sep 5, 2013) - Danish eye tracking company The Eye Tribe is now presenting the world's first truly affordable eye tracking device. Priced at only $99, the first version of The Eye Tribe Tracker is targeted at developers and bundled with an easy to use Software Development Kit.
The award winning company The Eye Tribe today announced their pre-order campaign for The Eye Tribe Tracker, a $99 eye tracker for Windows. This is an important step towards The Eye Tribe's goal of making eye-tracking technology available for everyone. The Eye Tribe Tracker is a small hardware device with USB 3.0 that you can plug directly into your Windows PC, laptop or tablet.
"Next generation high resolution sensors allow us to provide a great eye tracking experience that will be fully comparable to other existing eye tracking systems, but in a smaller case and at a truly affordable price," says CTO and co-founder of The Eye Tribe, Martin Tall.
Together with The Eye Tribe Tracker comes a Software Development Kit (SDK) that allows developers to easily integrate eye control into existing applications and games. It only takes a few lines of code to receive a real-time stream of on-screen gaze coordinates.
"We want all the best developers around the world to get The Eye Tribe Tracker and start developing games and applications with eye control. We expect to see whole new interaction concepts, when developers get their hands on our technology," says CEO and co-founder of The Eye Tribe, Sune Alstrup Johansen.
Initially The Eye Tribe Tracker will work for Windows only, but The Eye Tribe has already showcased their upcoming Android version, and all the core hardware components used in The Eye Tribe Tracker are suitable for integration into mobile devices.
"Soon, eye tracking will be seamlessly integrated into everyday products such as smartphones and tablets, but we want to be ahead of the curve to make sure that there are apps and games available when the technology is implemented in consumer devices," Sune Alstrup Johansen continues.
Developers should start considering how they want to utilize eye control in their games and applications. The Eye Tribe is now partnering with software and gaming companies to bring eye controlled applications and games to the consumers. First batch of The Eye Tribe Tracker starts shipping before the end of this year.
Watch the product launch video at www.theeyetribe.com.