GazeInterface
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Tobii's IS-2 eye tracker is cheaper, 75 percent smaller than its predecessor
Of all the things we saw at CES, Tobii's eye-tracking Gaze interface was one of the most memorable, even if the execution was a bit flawed. Now the company's back with a next-gen sensor that fits on a single board and is 75 percent smaller than the iteration we saw at CES -- a milestone that will presumably allow it to accommodate a wider range of devices. Tobii also says the IS-2S eye tracker consumes 40 percent less power than its predecessor and will be cheaper to implement, though the company doesn't specify how much it'll cost. It's also unclear which Windows PC and tablet makers will take a chance on the technology, though that won't necessarily stop us from getting an early demo at CeBIT this week. %Gallery-149469%
Tobii's Gaze interface lets you use your eyes to move a cursor, perform gestures in Windows 8 (video)
We've seen gesture control, but how about an input device that lets you stare your PC into submission? That's the basic gist of Tobii's Gaze UI, an early version of which is on display here at CES, and which will eventually help doctors and other professionals skim through data just by looking at it. When this becomes available, likely in a year or so, customers will need some requisite hardware (read: that conspicuous eye tracking strip you see up there) and, of course, software that can take advantage of it. Got it? Good. Here's the elevator pitch: using your eyes, you can move the cursor around the screen, select objects, scroll and pinch to zoom. But if you imagined looking at your Firefox shortcut and blinking twice to open it, you'd be sorely disappointed: though you can use your eyes to drag the cursor, you'll still need to keep a finger on your touchpad. For instance, once you direct your eyes to a certain part of a webpage, you'll need to use two fingers to zoom in, as you normally would. Really, then, this is saving you from having to bear down on your clickpad, so for now, at least, your fingers can keep their day job.
