Apparently there’s a burgeoning eye tracking peripheral market. Who knew? Yesterday Tobii announced its PC eye tracking sensor, now another contender has surfaced. The Eye Tribe sensor bar made a splash at CES today, hot on the heels of Tobii’s announcement. The Eye Tribe does something Tobii’s device currently doesn’t, however. It features full support for Mac OS!
The Eye Tribe sensor bar will go for $99 and comes with a full SDK control for Apple‘s desktop OS. Eye Tribe has been available for Windows PCs and tablets and is now coming to the Apple ecosystem. The sensor will work with Macs as well as iPad. Parent company Interact technology hopes to have an iPhone option in the future.
CEO Sune Alstrup Johansen touted the rich future of eye tracking technology in a statement:
“It may seem futuristic now, but eye tracking is the next frontier for computing and communications and the focus of today’s development community. Our Mac release is the next step in our aggressive strategy to seed low-cost developer hardware to ensure eye tracking becomes a standard feature on computers, smartphones, tablets and gaming in the near-term.”
Like Tobii’s eye tracker, the Eye Tribe uses a camera system to follow a users eye-motion. This can control the action within a game and also be used for productivity applications. Interact Technology announced it had secured $3.1 million in funding for the project.
For more information about Interact Technology and the Eye Tribe, the company’s press release follows below:
INTERACT WITH TECHNOLOGY JUST BY LOOKING AT IT:
THE EYE TRIBE DEBUTS WORLD’S FIRST $99 EYE TRACKER WITH FULL SDK CONTROL FOR MAC OS X WITH GLOBAL DEBUT AT CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW (CES)
The Eye Tribe Tracker OS X Joins Award-Winning Windows Version; Allows Developers to Cost-Effectively Integrate Eye Tracking Technology into Applications and Games
Copenhagen, Denmark and Las Vegas, Nevada – January 9, 2014 – Danish eye-tracking software firm, The Eye Tribe, has rendered the computer mouse obsolete — engineering eye-tracking software enabling people to interact with technology just by looking at it.
Previously only available for Windows-based computers and tablets, The Eye Tribe today announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the global debut of The Eye Tribe Tracker for Mac OS X. Priced at only $99, the software is targeted at developers and bundled with an easy- to-use Software Development Kit (SDK), allowing for easy integration into applications and games for tablets, laptops and computers – and eventually smartphones.
The Eye Tribe software enables eye control on mobile devices and computers, allowing hands-free control of websites and apps, eye activated login, enhanced gaming experiences, and cloud-based user engagement analytics.
“It may seem futuristic now, but eye tracking is the next frontier for computing and communications and the focus of today’s development community,” said Sune Alstrup Johansen, CEO and co-founder of The Eye Tribe. “Our Mac release is the next step in our aggressive strategy to seed low-cost developer hardware to ensure eye tracking becomes a standard feature on computers, smartphones, tablets and gaming in the near-term.”
The Mac OS X launch follows The Eye Tribe’s competition in the inaugural TechCrunch Hardware Battlefield at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Alongside leading hardware startups from 11 countries, The Eye Tribe presented its technology, vision and business model to a diverse audience. Recently, The Eye Tribe began shipping pre-orders of The Eye Tribe Trackers, and launched its Developer Site and Developer Forum, where developers can share applications for Trackers and interact with The Eye Tribe team.
This announcement comes on the heels of raising another $1 million in seed funding, primarily from existing investors, board members and key individuals in the US, including former semiconductor executive Richard Sanquini.
About The Eye Tribe
The Eye Tribe enables eye control on computers and mobile devices, allowing hands-free navigation of websites and apps, eye-activated login, enhanced gaming experiences and cloud-based user engagement analytics. The Eye Tribe was founded in the European Startup Bootcamp Accelerator program in 2011, and has since raised 3.1 million USD in seed funding. For more information, visit: www.theeyetribe.com
The Eye Tribe Tracker is an aftermarket eye tracker that allows users to navigate, interact and actuate software on their Windows 7, 8 or Mac OS X device with a USB 3 interface. With the Tracker, users can manipulate their device purely with eye movement, or with a combination of eye tracking and other inputs like touch, responding to natural eye movements as users interact with their devices.
[Via: Eye Tribe]