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Tobii says it's in talks to provide eye tracking for Sony's PlayStation VR2
Tobii says it's in talks to provide eye tracking for Sony's PlayStation VR2 headset, suggesting the hardware isn't close to launch.
AI gauges the mental health of cancer patients through eye movements
Researchers have developed AI that can determine mental health by tracking eye movements, although it may be a long while before the tech is practical.
Intel explains Project Athena laptops, promises nine hours of battery life
It's been five months since Intel teased its Project Athena program, and until now, all we really knew was that it'd be similar to the Ultrabook scheme, which paved the way for slim yet efficient premium laptops. With just three weeks to go until Computex, arguably the biggest PC event in the world, Intel shed more light on what it thinks a Project Athena laptop will offer, and how it's helping build them.
Tobii uses PC cameras to keep people from peeking at your screen (updated)
Tobii is putting its camera technology to work in a very practical way: it's making your day-to-day computing just that much more private and, ideally, more personal. A new version of its Aware software uses your PC's Windows Hello-capable camera to, among other things, blur and lock your screen when you're not looking. You won't have to worry that someone will peep a confidential email when you step away from your computer for a few minutes. The screen can automatically dim when you walk away, too, so you won't feel quite so guilty about wasting power.
Tobii's EyeCore will make next-gen VR experiences even more immersive
VR and AR may be the next big thing immersive experiences, but so far, their user interfaces have been anything but intuitive. Conventionally, head-mounted displays have operated under the assumption that its users are owls: their eyes are locked in their skulls, facing forward requiring them to use their noses as VR cursors. Tobii is working to change that by integrating eye tracking into the next generation of head-mounted displays.
Qualcomm adds Tobii's eye-tracking tech to its mobile VR kit
Tobii's eye-tracking tech was such a great fit for virtual reality that taking it for a spin at CES 2018 ruined every headset without its capabilities for Engadget editor Devindra Hardawar. Now, Tobii has teamed up with Qualcomm to create an updated version of the chipmaker's Snapdragon 845 Mobile VR Platform. Unlike the rather underwhelming design we tested in February, the development kit's new version will come loaded with Tobii's eye-tracking tech.
Tobii proves that eye tracking is VR's next killer feature
There are plenty of ways virtual reality headsets could get better. They could offer higher-resolution screens (like the new Vive Pro), a wider field of view and improved built-in tracking sensors. But another feature might be even more essential: eye tracking. It's not a new concept -- we've been following FOVE's eye-tracking headset, as well as 7Invensun's Vive accessory, for a few years now. But it seems more important than ever as consumer VR winds up. Tobii, a company that's been exploring the potential of eye tracking for a while, is hoping to integrate its technology into the next generation of VR headsets. And based on some demos I saw, it's clearly not a question of if VR headsets will get eye tracking. It's when.
How will VR and AR affect the future of entertainment?
It's been almost two years since consumer VR arrived with the launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. And we've also seen great mobile VR options like Samsung's Gear VR and Google's Daydream View. While we've seen plenty of compelling games and experiences since then, the medium still has a long way to go. To help figure out exactly where VR and AR are headed, especially when it comes to entertainment, we chatted with three executives in the field on stage: Tom Harding, director of immersive products and VR at Samsung; Oscar Werner, Tobii's technology president; and Rikard Steiber, president of Viveport and senior VP of virtual reality at HTC Vive.
Windows 10 will soon include built-in eye tracking
It's not easy to use a PC if you have ALS or another neuromuscular disease that prevents you from using your hands. You can use eye tracking, but that could easily entail specialized software and an imperfect experience. Microsoft thinks it can do better. It's adding built-in eye tracking to Windows 10, nicknamed Eye Control, that will let anyone navigate using their gaze. You can launch apps, type and otherwise perform common tasks just by focusing your eyes on the right part of the screen.
Acer's 21-inch gaming laptop will cost you a staggering $8,999
You knew Acer's wonderfully overdone Predator 21X gaming laptop was going to cost a pretty penny, but probably not this much. The PC maker has revealed launch details for its 21-inch desktop replacement, and the system will cost a mind-numbing $8,999 when it ships in February. You may have to choose between this and a nice used car. There are plenty of reasons for the over-the-top price tag, at least. In addition to the signature 21-inch curved 1080p display and mechanical keyboard, you're getting an overclockable 7th-generation Core i7-7820HK processor, 64GB (!) of RAM, dual GTX 1080 graphics chips, Tobii eye tracking, as many as four 512GB solid-state drives in a RAID stripe and a 2TB hard drive. You probably won't need to consider a replacement for a long, long while. And don't worry if this is absolute overkill, as there's a vaguely affordable model in the mix.
Honor Magic tucks Huawei's latest smarts into a slab of glass
Huawei is probably best known for its Leica-branded smartphones aimed at high-end users, but its e-commerce brand Honor has also been busy entertaining affordable markets with some surprisingly nice devices -- namely the 8 and the Note 8. To wrap up the year, today the company announced the Honor Magic to showcase some of its latest goodies. "This is an experimental product of ours," said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's Consumer Business Group. "This concept phone will help us pre-evaluate uncertain future technologies." In a nutshell, the Magic is a mix of fresh design, faster charging tech, smarter assistant and interesting improvements on other aspects of user experience.
Dell's latest Alienware laptops are VR ready
Dell has revealed a 13-, 15- and 17-inch lineup of thinner, VR-ready Alienware laptops that pack new designs and whiz-bang eye-tracking features. For gamers, the main attraction is support for the latest NVIDIA laptop cards. The big-screen Alienware 17 gets the top-end NVIDIA GTX 1080 chip, while the Alienware 15 and 13 get the GTX 1070 and 1060, respectively. That means that all three models will be "VR-ready" for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets.
Acer's latest PCs include the first curved screen laptop
You no longer have to stick to your desk to enjoy a flashy curved display. Acer is unveiling flood of new laptops at Germany's IFA show, and the highlight by far is the Predator 21 X -- according to Acer, the world's first curved screen laptop. As the name suggests, opening up this gigantic gaming portable reveals a 21-inch curved, ultra-wide display that promises more immersion than you're used to with portable gaming. It 'only' touts a 2,560 x 1,080 resolution, but NVIDIA G-Sync support should give you smoother, game-friendly output.
Tag enemies with your eyes in Tom Clancy's 'The Division'
If you're hankering for something to spice up The Division after months of playing, getting a Tobii eye tracker is probably your best bet. The Swedish company's devices are now compatible with the PC version of the title, which means the Tom Clancy game gets a bunch of cool, new eye-tracking features. What's perhaps the neatest of them all is the ability to tag or mark an enemy just by looking at them, so your team can see and shoot him. That's more efficient than, say, Battlefield's multiplayer system, wherein you'd have to tap another key to tag an opponent.
You can now buy MSI's eye-tracking laptop
MSI has revealed that people can now pick up the flagship GT72S laptop for the princely sum of $2,599.99. Unlike other high-end gaming devices, this one has a trick up its sleeve: Tobii's eye-tracking sensor technology. We've previously showed you prototypes of the kit, but after six months in the labs, it's now ready for prime time. As before, the device's extra sensors will let your eyes interact with the game as long as there's support for it. So far, titles like Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Assassin's Creed: Rogue and Elite: Dangerous are all able to take advantage of the GT72S' extra hardware.
MSI's flagship gaming laptop gets an eye-tracking upgrade
If you're looking for a big, powerful gaming laptop, the MSI's GT72 Dominator has always been a solid choice -- but it's never been really interesting. The Dominator is known for a strong build, powerful internals, good speakers and a superb keyboard, but it never offered anything unexpected. Now it does. Later this month, MSI will be updating the Dominator with a fancy new gimmick: an integrated eye-tracking camera.
These are the first third-party Windows Hello cameras
Microsoft's Windows 10 computers have a log in feature called Windows Hello, where users are able to access their devices using facial recognition algorithms. On the downside, the feature was only available on newer devices with depth-sensing cameras built-in. That is, until eye-tracking company Tobii decided to change things up by offering support for the service with its standalone cameras.
We played 'Assassin's Creed' with our eyes... partially
Taiwan's big tech trade show isn't just about CEOs shouting about their newest laptops and tablets. It's also the place for execs to shake hands, make deals and do ole' fashioned business. One deal is putting Tobii's eye-tracking tech inside high-end MSI gaming hardware. Yep, it's a concept, but it's underscored by a deal to work together on developing eye tracking in gaming hardware in the future. But we're not really about doing deals and shaking hands; we're about stabbing enemy soldiers and hiding in haystacks, which is where the Assassins' Creed demo came in. The trio of short-range infrared sensors monitors your eye movement, which (at least how they're utilized in this particular game) allow you to adjust your field of vision to where you want to in the game. Instead of rotating the camera with a mouse or buttons, you simply look to where you want to, and the detection software kicks in and sweeps the camera to where you (more often than not) want it to.
Pizza Hut's eye-tracking menu knows what you want before you do
When scanning a menu, are you justifying that Dame Blanche sundae in your mind rather than actually choosing a dessert? Pizza Hut wants to help you skip your super-ego middleman and just let your id order that triple-cheese bacon pepperoni pie directly. It's "Subconscious Menu" uses Tobii's eye-tracking tech to figure out which of 20 different ingredients you're looking at on a screen (see the video below). It then takes all of three seconds to identify the pizza you really want based on which you looked at the longest. Pizza Hut says its Subconscious Menu is still in trials, but after testing to a 98 percent success rate, it may eventually appear in restaurants.
In movies, CGI is best when you don't even notice it
Cinema screens are huge, which is odd, because the eye can only focus on a small portion of what's in front of it at any one time. That's what prompted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to team up with neuroscientists from Birkbeck, University of London, who in turn recruited eye-tracking firm Tobii. The trio embarked upon a project to determine where people concentrated their gaze. Then, by using Tobii's hardware, were able to create a heat map that was overlaid on the frame, much in the same way that SMI analyzes sports matche. The conclusions from the research found that the best use of CGI isn't to make big robots at the front of the frame, but to fill in all of the spare detail that you're not looking at.
