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Hands-on with Tobii REX, a peripheral that brings eye-tracking to any Windows 8 PC (video)
One of the neat things about CES is that it gives us a chance to check in with startups we covered the previous year. In the case of, Tobii, 12 months makes a world of difference. When we met with the company last January, it had never publicly shown off its eye-tracking Gaze UI, which allowed us to navigate, zoom, select and scroll on a custom Windows 8 laptop with just our pupils and a touchpad. After playing with it, it was obvious to us the technology still needed some fine-tuning, but nonetheless Tobii promised it would have a product to sell in about a year's time. Fast forward 12 months: Intel now owns a 10 percent stake in the company, and Tobii recently started shipping its first piece of hardware, the REX. This small USB peripheral, just slightly thicker than a pen, attaches to the base of any computer display, allowing it to bring eye-tracking technology to any Windows 8 machine. For now, it's only available to developers for a price of $995, but Tobii expects to ship 5,000 consumer units by the end of 2013. Happily for us, though, we got to play with it here at CES 2013. Meet us after the break to see how the technology's grown up since we tried it out it a year ago, and then when you're done reading through our impressions, check out the walkthrough video at the end. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
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.
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 Gazes into the future, sees you navigating Windows 8 with your eyes (video)
You may be waiting with bated breath for Microsoft to hurry up and release Windows 8 PCs and tablets to the masses, but before they get here, there might a twist to the way you tweak'em. Tobii Technology intends to demo its new mouse-free interface at CES this month -- dubbed Tobii Gaze -- that it hopes'll revolutionize the way we interact with devices. The gesture-based system incorporates eye-tracking to direct an on-screen pointer and works in conjunction with touch pad input for "fine-tuning." The company's hoping this new interface'll help you toss out that antiquated clicker and embrace the world of Minority Report. Hey, it's inevitable and you know it.
