Lenovo and Tobii Demo Eye-controlled Laptop
Sick of all the tablets and Sandy Bridge talk coming out of CeBIT? Well, here’s a little something unique enough to pique the interest of even the most brainwashed of tablet fanatics.
Meet Lenovo’s eye-controlled notebook. Developed in conjunction with Swedish-based Tobii, this computer is the first fully functional prototype of Tobi’si eye-tracking technology that allows users to zoom, automatically center on what they’re focusing on, auto-dim and brighten the display, scroll through documents with their eyes.
Currently there exists only 20 of these machines and they’re split between Lenovo and Tobii so the two companies can demo and develop the technology even further. However, this implementation of the technology is also on display at CeBIT 2011, in Hanover, Germany, and attendees are being given the chance to try out the eye-tracking control software for themselves.
Engadget’s Chris Ziegler says the technology works “extraordinarily well” and offered tracking with pinpoint precision, despite a sloppy calibration job at the beginning. According to Ziegler, the level of precision was further demonstrated with a simple game that sees the user blow up Earth-bound asteroids just by looking at them. “The smallest rocks were only a few pixels wide, and we could consistently blast 'em.”
Nothing on how soon we’ll see this technology in laptops that we can actually buy in stores but it’ll likely be a few years. Tobii says it continues to work with partners on implementing the technology but offered no time frame in its press kit.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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hardcore_gamer Does it use system resources for eye tracking ?or is there a specialized hardware for that ?Reply -
vegettonox Can you imagine fps games with this technology it will literally replace the mouse period.Reply -
vegettonox Can you imagine first person shooters with this technology, it will literally replace the mouse.Reply -
caeden really, they are going to bring this crap back?Reply
Back when I was in middle school my class went on a tour of the Defense Language Institute out in Monterey California. It was a cool trip! They had us see all sorts of 'new and upcoming' technology and how they were planning to use this in the military. It was deferentially a military propaganda thing, but still a lot of fun, and one of the few things I actually remember from middle school. But one of the things they had was an eye controlled mouse. This was about 14 years ago! It is not advanced or new, it has just never caught on because sometimes we need to look at one thing while typing at another. Or we get easily distracted and glance off to another area. Anywho, I am sure they have improved upon the tech in 14 years, but I bet it will still be mostly useless. -
NightLight vegettonoxCan you imagine first person shooters with this technology, it will literally replace the mouse.Reply
and with bionic eye implants I will have the right to yell CHEATER again!!