Tobii Technology has developed what the company describes as the world’s first eye-controlled arcade game, adding that Tobii EyeAsteroids represents an expansion of eye tracking applications into the consumer electronics and gaming industries.
Eye tracking and eye control makes it possible for computing devices to know exactly where users are looking, and typically is used in many areas of research and in products designed to improve the lives of people with special needs, where Tobii is a well known name. Using eye controls for gaming is a much buzzed-about concept, with work coming from many quarters including Waterloo Labs’ EyeMario system that uses physical sensors (see video below) and the Blekinge Institute of Technology researchers’ experiments with Half Life 2.
Barbara Barclay, general manager of Tobii North America, said its use in interactive entertainment added a new dimension to the experience, making it more intuitive, immersive and fun.
“Tobii EyeAsteroids is another example of how seamless the adoption of eye tracking can become in our everyday lives and how the integration of eye tracking in consumer electronics can greatly benefit the overall user experience,” Barclay said. “With this product we are able to revolutionize this industry as it looks to the future of gamer interaction beyond that of motion gaming and dance pads.”
Tobii EyeAsteroids will make its first public appearance Nov. 8 at the Dave & Buster’s on Times Square in New York City.
Based in Sweden, Tobii has offices in the U.S., China, Germany, Japan, Norway, and a worldwide network of resellers and partners.
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Brilliant PR but eye control is of little practical utility for most people in most situations as I explained in some detail in this blog: http://thinkeyetracking.com/Blog/?p=402
A $20 trackball is a better interface for Asteroids than an eye tracker. However, wearable eyetracking integrated with AR will be as revolutionary as the telephone was.
Try it out next time when over in New York if you are close to Times Square! I’m sure you’d love it, and if not let me know and I’ll reimburse you the dollar 😉
p.s. that offer was not a blank check for anybody, just for you Rob…