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NTT DoCoMo's i beam tablet prototype is driven by your eyes (video)
Another prototype from DoCoMo aimed at Nihon's commuters, the i beam concept tablet forgoes any touch at all, allowing the user (once they're at the specified 'sweet spot') to navigate around apps and screens using your eyes. Two sensors along the bottom edge of the tablet track both of your eyes and after a slightly laborious configuration setup, we were able to tour around the prototype slabs features without laying a finger on it. The navigational dot was a little erratic, but we'll put that down to prototype nerves. The tablet was otherwise able to follow our eye-line and fulfill what we wanted it to do. Returning to the home screen by targeting the kill box in the top right corner proved to be the most difficult thing -- we soon resorted to tapping at the screen for that. DoCoMo showcased an eye-controlled game, alongside picture galleries, a web browser and a reader app. The e-book client seemed to be the most heavily involved, with the ability to look up words with a hard-stare, and flip pages by eyeing the two lower corners. The Japanese carrier isn't planning a consumer launch any time soon -- and the hardware comes with a pretty pronounced chin at the moment, but if you like staring at someone staring at a tablet, our eyes-on is after the break.
Tobii, Fujitsu and NTT DoCoMo partner on eye tracking ibeam tablet, promise a peek in October
Tobii's eye tracking Gaze UI hasn't been especially portable so far, but we'll soon see that change through a new collaboration involving Fujitsu and NTT DoCoMo. The trio plan to reveal the ibeam, an Android tablet with Tobii's smaller IS20 (formerly the IS-2) detector taking input just through glances. Together, the partners want to show that an eye-driven interface can be more reactive than plain old multi-touch: think turning a page in an e-book while you're holding on to a subway car strap. We're only getting a brief preview as of today, but we're teased with the prospect of a full look at NTT DoCoMo's CEATEC booth in early October. Whether or not ibeam leads to more than a well-that's-nice prototype, though, is still up in the air.
