eye-tracking
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Gaming gets immersive thanks to union of pico projector and eye tracking camera (video)
Although in the earliest stages of development, this virtual reality gaming rig already looks pretty intriguing. Engineered by clever kids at the University of Texas at Austin, it hot-wires an eye tracking camera to a motorised pico projector with the result that the player literally can't take their eyes off the screen. Wherever they look, that is where their view of the gaming world is projected. The rig makes most sense in a first-person shooter, although the students have also tried it in a flight simulator where the player uses their head to roll and pitch the aircraft. Yes, it looks rather similar to the Microvision PicoP laser projection gun we wielded at CES, but there's a key difference: the player does not need to hold anything or have anything attached to their body. This unencumbered Kinect-esque approach could potentially allow a greater sense of freedom -- except that, for it to work, the player is forced to sit directly in front of the eye tracker. Find a way to fix this, dear Longhorns, and you could be onto something. Video after the break.
Eye-tracking microdisplay delivers Terminator vision, distracts joggers
The folks at Fraunhofer IPMS have done it! After years of tireless research and promises of Borg-like eyewear, the group has delivered a prototype of the world's first bidirectional, eye-tracking OLED microdisplay (got all that?) at SID 2011. The rig is much like a monocle, except with a transparent OLED display inside, which overlays digital information on top of the reflected light that usually hits your eyeballs. What's more, there are integrated photodetectors inside and special software to monitor the direction of your gaze, allowing you to interact with your newfound augmented reality using only the flick of an eyeball. Fraunhofer foresees joggers taking in movies while out for a run, which sounds more than just a little dangerous. We, on the other hand, envision a world in which the first thing anyone does upon meeting someone new is discreetly check their relationship status on Facebook -- finally fulfilling the social network's full creep potential. One more pic and the poorly translated PR after the break.
Students create affordable eye-tracking tablet for the disabled
Disabled users have long been able to control computers with just the flick of an eye, but those hardware and software packages are prohibitively expensive. Heck, the surprisingly accurate Tobii PCEye is a veritable steal at $6,900. And, while we can't vouch for its usability, engineering students at Brigham Young University have managed an impressive feat, by whipping up an eye-tracking Windows 7 tablet that costs under $1,500. The system was created as part of a partnership with EyeTech Digital Systems, which plans to market the devices in parts of the world where other eye-tracking solutions are unaffordable -- like just about anywhere the roads aren't paved with gold. We could even see a few able-bodied (but incredibly lazy) bloggers getting some use out of this -- mornings around here would be a lot easier if we could double-fist piping hot coffee mugs while typing with our eyeballs.
Valve expresses interest in eye tracking, improving experience for able and disabled gamers
Valve is no stranger to experimenting with new ways of communicating and tracking data within games. Whether it's something as simple as closed captioning and customizable controls, or something a bit more niche like a colorblind mode, many of Valve's games have been celebrated for being more accessible. Mike Ambinder of Valve Software spoke with Gamasutra and explained how company's pursuits enables it to "improve the experience of both able and disabled gamers." In addition to previously documented research into sign language, Valve's Ambinder also expresses interest in "the potential of eyetrackers and the eventual ability to let gamers use their eyes as active controller inputs." With this method, you may be able to control a game completely hands-free ... without having to use your entire body as an input device. "It may be possible in the future to let the eyes act as a proxy for the mouse cursor, letting gamers transmit navigation and targeting inputs via eye movements. If you couple this approach with the use of blinks or other proxies for button presses, you may remove the need for a mouse and keyboard (or gamepad) all together," Ambinder added. While eye tracking sounds particularly ambitious, there are many other efforts in place by designers to make a game work better for disabled gamers. Read the full Gamasutra write-up for more.
Speedy robo-cam mimics the movements of the human eye, exceeds them
Some researchers at the Technical University of Munich have built an unassuming but no-less-remarkable mechanism for tilting and panning a small camera robotically. Designed to keep up with the eye movements of a human in gaze-tracking studies, the camera mount features three degrees of movement, and can flick around at a rapid 2500 degrees per second -- our flesh-composed eyeballs max out at a mere 1000. The setup uses ultrasonic piezo-actuators, which move prismatic joints, which drive spherically-jointed rods attached to the camera, keeping the weight under 100 grams and still acting gently enough to avoid rattling on top of the wearer's head. We'll take two.
Eye Mario System enables your face to control any NES game (video)
We'll be straight with you -- prior to this fine day, we'd never heard of the whiz kids at Waterloo Labs, but we'll be keeping our focus locked on their initiatives from this point forward. Why, you ask? Just look at that bloke above, who is in the middle of asking Mario to leap over a tunnel with a simple eye movement. Granted, we've seen eye-controlled interfaces before, but there's just something -- shall we say... inspirational -- about being able to control your favorite NES titles with your own face. Better still, the crew is providing the full blown how-to down in the source, and if you're not a fan of strapping an array of electrodes on your person, you still owe it to yourself to peek the video past the break. Oh, and it's good to see these guys still have to blow on their NES cartridges to get 'em to work right -- misery adores company, eh?
Eye-tracking lie detectors inch a little closer to reality
If lie detection is your thing, choices aren't exactly scarce: you can go with Lego for the kids, Skype-centric for remote fibber identification, or even use a headband if you can corral your suspect long enough. Hoping to add to that list is the University of Utah, whose eye-tracking lie detector has been licensed to a local company in order to explore its viability as a commercial product. As with Blade Runnner's Voight-Kampff empathy test, Utah's methodology revolves around monitoring things like eye movement, pupil dilation and response time -- with the major difference being that you're trying to identify truth evaders rather than skinjobs. John Kircher, one of the lead researchers, claims results so far have been as good as or better than those obtained with polygraph testing, though he admits the project is still in its early stages. No worries, though, we're sure they'll perfect the technique in time for our post-apocalyptic, Vangelis-scored future.
Eye tracking Tobii Glasses enable 'fully valid research' from a bodaciously styled pair of shades
If you're looking to get in touch with some styling cues you left behind in the '80s, or perhaps just perform a study on effective product packaging, Tobii Technology would like you to get a load of these. They're called Tobii Glasses, a pair of eye-tracking specs that look a little less obtrusive than some others we've seen, but despite that are also a bit less practical. These glasses pack a VGA camera, write to a hip-mounted unit with SDHC storage, and rely on IR emitters that apparently must be scattered about the field of vision that the researcher is looking to study. Those emitters enable very accurate and reliable monitoring of where the research participant is looking, making these possibly an ideal accessory for all you marketing research managers out there. Update: We got a note from Rasmus Petersson at Tobii Technology indicating that, indeed, the glasses can be used without the IR transmitters -- you just lose some automation when it comes to data aggregation at the end of the study. So, married dudes, look out if your wife buys you a new set of specs for your birthday.
Sony demonstrates eye-tracking glasses designed for 'lifelogging'
You are "lifelogging," aren't you? Well, it looks like Sony could one day make the process a whole lot easier if an actual product ever results from these prototype glasses, which combine eye-tracking technology with an outward-facing camera. That, Sony says, allows the camera to detect and record objects (or people, for that matter) that you're looking at, and even recognize and copy text that you're reading. Sony apparently isn't quite done with the idea just yet, however, and says that it also plans to add some GPS capabilities and, of course, embed the device in the frame of the glasses. Despite appearances, Sony says that should be relatively easy -- the real problem is how to handle the power supply for the glasses.
DIY Eyewriter brings the joy of art, vandalism to those with ALS
You know, there are a slew of devices out there that'll let you indulge in some graffiti action without sullying your hands (or breaking the law). Indeed, we've seen real time 3D paintings in galleries and something called the Wiispray, and now we have Eyewriter. An ongoing effort by a group of graffiti artists from around the world, this open source project has designed and built a low-cost eye-tracking system to enable people like Tony Quam (a.k.a. TEMPTONE), who is paralyzed, to create artwork moving only his eyes. But that ain't all -- the group also designed a "mobile broadcast unit," which is essentially a low-powered, networked bicycle capable of projecting the business onto the side of a building (or street sign, or train). The kids responsible for this heartwarming example of "eye vandalism" promise that how-to materials, software, and the like will all be available soon, but in the meantime check a video of the thing in action after the break. [Via Jailbreak]
Control WoW with your eyes
Adding one to the list of things I've never thought of that are actually pretty cool, scientists at De Montfort University in the UK have developed a way to control WoW with your eyes. The system uses existing LED eye-tracking devices, and essentially the cursor just goes where you look. Looking offscreen in various directions can trigger different modes (for combat or travel, for instance). The intention behind this project is to help people with disabilities that prevent them from using traditional input devices. So far, judging by the video, the interface is not up to par with clicking or key-pressing, but I think it does have potential for situations where it's required. The research team hopes to begin trials next year.[via Wonderland]
EyePoint software improves vision-based input
We've all seen them before: high-tech eye-tracking systems that let disabled folks control their computers by adjusting their gaze, or those cheaper models that promise to free up gamers' hands and enable vision-based navigation. However, the problem with current systems -- both medical and recreational -- is that they have difficulty correcting for rapid, unconscious movements of the pupil, making them prone to frustrating errors and giving them only meager functionality. Well that may all be about to change thanks to a Stanford researcher named Manu Kumar and his EyePoint software, which can be used with the same multi-thousand dollar hardware as existing setups, but improves upon their accuracy through pupil-steadying algorithms and by throwing the user's hand into the mix. Someone using a rig powered by EyePoint first looks at the general area of the screen they're interested in, and then presses a key to magnify that area for purposes of editing text or clicking links. Kumar's ultimate goal is to bring eye-tracking hardware and software to the masses at affordable prices, but right now the 20% error rate means his system is still too flaky for everyday use; further refinement of the algorithms to incorporate peripheral vision may help somewhat, but he'll have to get the accuracy above 95% if there's any hope of widespread adoption. Or products like the Project Epoc thought-controlled helmet could end up making a big splash, and completing obviating the need for what is essentially a souped-up early 19th Century technology.[Via Gadget Lab]
