A New Factor in HMI, Human-Machine Interface: Eye-Tracking Coming to Personal Computers

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Interview with Barbara Barclay, general Manager, TOBII: Eye-tracking could be a replacement to other traditional human inputs, such as point and click, but it is actually designed to be complementary.

Tobii Technology today unveiled the world’s first laptop with integrated eye control. The prototype laptop has been developed in collaboration with computer manufacturer Lenovo and will be shown publicly for the first time at CeBIT in Hannover, March 1-5.

Ever wish your eyes were lasers? Point-and-Shoot may have a whole new meaning in the near future. A laptop prototype brings that wish closer to reality.

For users, eye control is thrilling and makes the computer interaction more effective. It is as if the computer understands you; just glance at an icon or gadget and more information will be presented; You can zoom pictures or maps and automatically center on the area you are looking at; The computer can auto-dim and brighten the screen when it recognizes your eyes to increase battery time. Eye control can also speed things up by enabling new and intuitive ways to switch between open windows, and browse your emails and documents.

The use of the device involves an infrared camera that detects eye position, which contributes to a 3-D awareness of eyeball position. The information can help the user control a computer.

The device will probably have medical applications and diagnostics, and is at least two years from becoming a consumer reality.

Other applications include automotive safety, arcade gaming, computer interaction, security, law enforcement, video conferencing, information kiosks, interactive advertising and more

Tobii Technology is a manufacturer of hardware and software solutions for eye tracking. The company was founded by three Swedish entrepreneurs; John Elvesjo, Henrik Eskilsson and Marten Skogo, in 2001 and has continuously shown very rapid year-to-year revenue growth – in 2007, Tobii was awarded a prize as Sweden’s fastest growing technology company by Deloitte. Tobii is based in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in the US, Japan, China, Germany and Norway. Tobii products are sold directly and through resellers and partners worldwide.