In the 2002 film Minority Report, one way that we know that it takes place in the future is because Tom Cruise does an online search by swiping images back and forth with a wave of his hand. To the people at Tobii Technology, however, that's old news -- they're envisioning a future where you control your computer using eye movements.
Tobii is a ten-year-old company based in Stockholm, Sweden, which produces eye tracking technology for a number of uses, including assistive technology (which helps disabled people use eye movements to communicate or manipulate objects), product development and academic/scientific research.
However, according to Barbara Barclay, general manager of analysis solutions for Tobii, the company has a wider audience in mind. "The founders had a vision of an eye tracker in every household," she says.
Barclay was in New York City earlier this week to help introduce EyeAsteroids, an arcade game that is simultaneously somewhat old-fashioned (you try to shoot down asteroids before they crash into the Earth) and innovative (you do it just by using your eyes). The game is, currently, strictly for businesses or the comfortably wealthy -- there are only 50 units being manufactured at $15,000 apiece -- but Tobii is hoping that it will illustrate the future potential of the technology.
I had a chance to try out Tobii's system using a smaller venue -- a Lenovo laptop tricked out with the company's tech. The hardware was hidden in a strip which was attached to the bottom of the laptop's display; the software was Windows-based, although there is now a Mac version as well.
According to Barclay, the company's eye tracking works by shining infrared light into your eyes and taking rapid photos, capturing the reflection of two reference points within the eye. From those, the software can create a 3D model of your eye and can tell where you are looking.
It was a fascinating experience. I first followed a small circle with my eyes as it moved to different parts of the screen in a process not unlike that you had to follow with older touch screens. I then tried a simpler version of the game -- and sure enough, as I looked at the asteroids heading toward the Earth, they blew up in a very satisfactory manner.
There were other applications used to illustrate possible consumer and business uses of eye tracking technology. I was (with a bit of difficulty) able to scan a collection of photos on the bottom half of the screen, select one and, by looking towards the top of the screen, expand it to fill the screen. I could also select one of several windows on the display by simply looking at it. It didn't work perfectly -- because I was wearing reading glasses at the time, the synchronization between my eyes and the tech was occasionally off -- but it was pretty impressive nonetheless.
It's going to be a while before eye tracking technology really hits the commercial/retail market. (And of course, Tobii isn't the only company working in this field.) According to Tobii's Barbara Barclay, though, the systems are becoming small and inexpensive enough so we might actually start seeing the first products in a very few years.
There are a variety of possible business uses -- for example, a stockbroker or other business staffer whose job depends on speed would welcome an interface where just looking at a business stat could open up a search or menu. However, gaming -- as illustrated by EyeAsteroids -- is more likely to be the first step toward public usage, especially since gaming computers already tend to push the bleeding edge of today's technology.
"What if you looked at something [in a game] and it looked back at you?" Barclay posits. "What can be more realistic than to have characters look back? It takes the whole meaning of avatars to a new level."
Tobii is a ten-year-old company based in Stockholm, Sweden, which produces eye tracking technology for a number of uses, including assistive technology (which helps disabled people use eye movements to communicate or manipulate objects), product development and academic/scientific research.
However, according to Barbara Barclay, general manager of analysis solutions for Tobii, the company has a wider audience in mind. "The founders had a vision of an eye tracker in every household," she says.
Barclay was in New York City earlier this week to help introduce EyeAsteroids, an arcade game that is simultaneously somewhat old-fashioned (you try to shoot down asteroids before they crash into the Earth) and innovative (you do it just by using your eyes). The game is, currently, strictly for businesses or the comfortably wealthy -- there are only 50 units being manufactured at $15,000 apiece -- but Tobii is hoping that it will illustrate the future potential of the technology.
I had a chance to try out Tobii's system using a smaller venue -- a Lenovo laptop tricked out with the company's tech. The hardware was hidden in a strip which was attached to the bottom of the laptop's display; the software was Windows-based, although there is now a Mac version as well.
According to Barclay, the company's eye tracking works by shining infrared light into your eyes and taking rapid photos, capturing the reflection of two reference points within the eye. From those, the software can create a 3D model of your eye and can tell where you are looking.
It was a fascinating experience. I first followed a small circle with my eyes as it moved to different parts of the screen in a process not unlike that you had to follow with older touch screens. I then tried a simpler version of the game -- and sure enough, as I looked at the asteroids heading toward the Earth, they blew up in a very satisfactory manner.
There were other applications used to illustrate possible consumer and business uses of eye tracking technology. I was (with a bit of difficulty) able to scan a collection of photos on the bottom half of the screen, select one and, by looking towards the top of the screen, expand it to fill the screen. I could also select one of several windows on the display by simply looking at it. It didn't work perfectly -- because I was wearing reading glasses at the time, the synchronization between my eyes and the tech was occasionally off -- but it was pretty impressive nonetheless.
It's going to be a while before eye tracking technology really hits the commercial/retail market. (And of course, Tobii isn't the only company working in this field.) According to Tobii's Barbara Barclay, though, the systems are becoming small and inexpensive enough so we might actually start seeing the first products in a very few years.
There are a variety of possible business uses -- for example, a stockbroker or other business staffer whose job depends on speed would welcome an interface where just looking at a business stat could open up a search or menu. However, gaming -- as illustrated by EyeAsteroids -- is more likely to be the first step toward public usage, especially since gaming computers already tend to push the bleeding edge of today's technology.
"What if you looked at something [in a game] and it looked back at you?" Barclay posits. "What can be more realistic than to have characters look back? It takes the whole meaning of avatars to a new level."
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