Tag Archives: eye tracking

FOVE VR Headset Tracks Eyes for On-the-Go Targeting

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FOVE VR Headset

Now that the news is out that Oculus Rift will finally be available in a consumer version, other companies are looking to steal the spotlight by launching VR headsets with new functions.

Such is the case with FOVE, a San Francisco-based startup that is trying to revolutionize VR technology by integrating eye tracking features into the headset it has developed. That might not sound like much, but detecting subtle eye movements could improve control in video games tremendously. Not only that, but this technology could improve the way we interact with virtual characters in games.

Here’s how the company described its VR headset:

“FOVE’s revolutionary technology reads subtle eye movements, translating them into emotionally powerful experiences. FOVE gives you more control than ever before in the virtual world and beyond.

FOVE tracks a user’s gaze and calculates where in 3D space a user is looking. This enables the graphics engine to adjust focus and allocate rendering resources accordingly.”

The makers of FOVE concentrated their attention on four main possible uses: aiming with the eyes, focusing the vision, making eye contact and moving more naturally. While most of these sound great, I’m not sure that focusing your vision (and thus increasing or decreasing the depth of field) feels very natural. Sure, the effect looks great in photos and videos, but that’s not exactly how the human eye works. Focusing on a certain area of the visual field could determine us to neglect other (possibly more important) details. In games, that could prove fatal for the player, since the enemies could hide precisely in the areas that are out of focus.

The developers of the FOVE VR headset are currently looking for funding on Kickstarter. At the time of writing, backers had pledged $184,262 of the $250,000 funding goal, and the crowdfunding campaign still had 44 days to go, so the success of the project is almost a certainty. If you want to try VR technology with a twist, head over to the campaign’s page and pledge at least $375 (early birds had the chance to get it for $349), in order to receive it in May 2016.

It remains to be seen how FOVE will stack against Oculus Rift, Sony’s Morpheus, and the other VR headsets companies might launch in the next year.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Razer’s VR headset that will include a Leap Motion hand-tracking sensor, or Samsung’s Gear VR headset.

The Eye Tribe Brings Eye Tracking to Smartwatches

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The Eye Tribe shows at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona its new eye tracking software solution for smartphones and new Eye Tracking SDK for Android. The company also demonstrated a smartwatch with...

Pizza Hut Is Working On A ‘Subconscious Menu’ That Knows What You Want, Even When You Don’t

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Pizza Hut is working with eye-tracking firm Tobii Technology (of Eye Asteroids fame) to develop a menu that scans your eye movements and is able to determine what toppings you’re most likely to want on your pizza, often before you’ve had a chance to formulate the conscious idea yourself. They arrange their 20 most common toppings in a grid on a tablet-style device and watch your eyes as you scan the images; within a 2.5 second timespan the device is able to pick out your favourites out of a potential 5,000 combinations. At the moment the system is claimed to have a 98% accuracy rate, but even so the order won’t go through without your final approval.

Although it’s not available at any of their restaurants at the moment, the company appears to be considering using the system one day and actually calling it ‘Subconscious Menu’.

“We wanted to try a few ideas on the traditional menu format,” Pizza Hut Head of Marketing Kathryn Austin told the Telegraph, “and we’re delighted to have developed the world’s first Subconscious Menu, a unique way to reinvent the dining experience.”

There’s no word on when this might appear on the market.

VIA [ DigitalTrends ]

The post Pizza Hut Is Working On A ‘Subconscious Menu’ That Knows What You Want, Even When You Don’t appeared first on OhGizmo!.

Will Your Eyes Replace Your Keyboard?

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So much will soon be obsolete as the Age of Context changes how people and technology interact. Among the most imminent victims are the keyboard and the mouse.Not only are they both too cumbersome...

Tobii & SteelSeries EyeX Eye Tracker: Eyeballs as Trackballs

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Tobii’s eye-tracking technology continues to make its way to mainstream devices. We’ve seen it work with laptops, arcade machines and Windows 8 tablets, and now Tobii has partnered with SteelSeries to release the EyeX, an eye-tracking accessory meant to work with PC games.

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In case you’re not familiar with Tobii’s technology, its eye tracker uses microprojectors to beam near-infrared light to the users’ eyes. Then the trackers’ sensors analyze the reflections of that light along with the user’s facial features to accurately detect where he’s looking.

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In the demo below, Tobii shows three ways that eye-tracking can be used to augment StarCraft II. First is the ability to move the view to a particular location by looking at an enlarged view of the mini-map (i.e. a map). Second is the ability to center the view to the point where the user is looking, and finally the ability to order units where to move, attack and more just by looking at the target. Skip to around 2:45 in the video for the demo:

The EyeX can also be used in e-sports broadcasts and to help developers improve their game by showing where a player is looking as he’s playing. Skip to around 12:30 in the video below to see that function in action:

As you can see the hardware seems quite capable, but it’s not going to succeed if developers don’t integrate it – and integrate it well– into their games.

Tobii & SteelSeries will release EyeX developer kits this year for $195 (USD), but for a limited time they can be bought for a steep discount: $95 for US customers and €75 for non-US customers. Just enter the promo code ‘CES2014′ on Tobii’s online shop when prompted. As with its tablet incarnation, I can see the EyeX being a boon not just for creating better or new ways to play games, but to help the disabled play conventional games as well. I hope developers and hardware hackers will explore that possibility too.

[via Tobii via Destructoid]

Tobii EyeX Engine drives eye-tracking into mainstream applications and devices

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Using this Tobii EyeX Engine together with the Tobii’s globally leading eye-tracking hardware, the developers can easily and rapidly create a real natural, mostly intuitive, and a consistent user...
    






Google Glass Alternate User Interface Hacks: More than Okay Glass

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Because of its size and form, Google Glass has a limited – albeit seemingly capable – user interface: touch gestures, head gestures and voice commands. Even though Glass’ display is visible at all times, there are times when it would be impractical, insensitive or downright impossible to interact with it. That’s why researcher Brandyn White came up with three alternative ways of controlling Glass.

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The first method is via eye tracking, i.e. triggering commands just by looking at a particular spot. Brandyn achieved this using a modified webcam, a 3D printed case and a custom software. As Brandyn notes, future versions of Glass may have eye-tracking built-in so this hack may be rendered obsolete. But even if that happened Brandyn says he doesn’t want this to be used in public, probably because it’s distracting and can also be offensive if used when you’re with other people.

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Brandyn also made a browser-based control interface for Glass with the help of a JavaScript-based platform called WearScript. As silly as it sounds, this interface will probably let you control Glass even if you’re not wearing it.

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Finally, Brandyn used a MaKey MaKey and WearScript to enable alternative touch controls for Glass. For instance, he wired MaKey MaKey to his clothes so that he could control Glass just by touching his sleeves. He also used two bananas to play Super Mario Bros. on a NES emulator.

You should check out Brandyn’s full article about his hacks on his website. Brandyn and his colleague Andrew Miller also made a couple of Google Glass hacks designed to help the blind become aware of their surroundings.

[via Mike Elgan via The Future of Things]

Tobii EyeMobile Brings Gaze Tracking to Tablets: EyePad

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A couple of years ago, Tobii made headlines when they unveiled their eye-tracking sensor. We first saw it installed on a laptop and then on gaming machines. Now Tobii wants to ride the tablet revolution with the EyeMobile, an add-on for Windows 8 Pro tablets.

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The EyeMobile makes use of Tobii’s USB-based PCEye Go sensor, a custom mounting bracket that doubles as a tablet stand and a Windows 8 Pro tablet. Tobii will be selling a bundle that includes the Dell Latitude 10 tablet, but you can also buy the sensor and the bracket separately if you already have a Windows 8 tablet.

In their hands-on with the EyeMobile, Digital Trends found the sensor to be quite accurate. Going back to the tablet in the top image, you can see a virtual dock on the right edge of the screen. You first have to look at one of the icons on the dock then look elsewhere to perform an action. For instance, if you want to left-click on something, you can’t just look at the thing you want to click. You first have to look at the left-click icon on the dock and then at the thing you want to click. It’s a bit tedious, but for people with certain disabilities this is a great way – if not the only way – for them to use modern technology. In addition, the PCEye Go sensor can be detached from the mounting bracket and used with a laptop or computer.

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Tobii will be selling the PCEye Go sensor for $3,900 (USD) while the bracket costs $350. They’re pricey for sure, but it’s way better than nothing. Check out this video if you want to see how life-changing Tobii’s eye-tracking sensor can be (and if you need a good cry.)

Head to the EyeMobile website for more information.

[via Digital Trends]

Microsoft tries to patent AR glasses for multiplayer gaming

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Are Microsoft's 'Fortaleza' AR Glasses alive and well in patent application

Remember those "Fortaleza" AR glasses we saw in a leaked Microsoft document back when the Xbox One was still the Xbox 720? It looks like those might actually be a thing, if a patent application from Redmond is any indication. It touts the idea of "multiplayer gaming with a head-mounted display," claiming the device could receive voice commands, track your eyes, calculate depth and recognize the faces of fellow players. All that would be in the rather narrow service of letting you invite others and accept invitations to a game through strictly visual means, though. That makes it similar to another recent Microsoft patent we saw for augmenting live events with AR, since the emphasis is on a specific usage rather than the eyewear itself. We might even see an application some day for actual gaming on such a device, but meanwhile, check after the break for more images.

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Via: NeoGAF

Source: USPTO