Danes develop eye-control
software for phones, tablets
24 OCTOBER 2012 - 19H44
AFP - A Danish company
hopes to clinch deals with major mobile phone and tablet makers after
developing software that enables users to control their devices by moving their
eyes, it said Wednesday.
"You can use it for
basic control, such as turning to the next page in an e-book, and playing games
with your eyes," chief executive and co-founder of The Eye Tribe, Sune
Alstrup Johansen, told AFP.
The software uses infrared
light reflected from the pupil of the eye, which is recorded by the device's
camera, enabling users to scroll or click on their screens with their eyes.
When you are reading an
e-book and get to the bottom of the page, the software will know to turn to the
next page, or if you look away from the screen it will dim it.
The Eye Tribe is made up
of four PhD students who founded the company a year ago. They received $800,000
(615,000 euros) in funding in August to develop the technology.
The company plans to
release the technology at no cost to other software developers early next year,
Alstrup Johansen said.
"We are releasing
software developing kits to developers so they can actually start developing
applications. We intend to give it away, it won't cost anything," he said.
"We do not intend to
develop all apps ourselves, we are allowing the (software) community to develop
apps," he said.
Alstrup Johansen said Eye
Tribe aims to get their software integrated in the hardware of big tablet
producers, so consumers can buy a tablet with the software and then download
apps that run with the eye control technology.
The Eye Tribe aims to earn
money from licensing fees from companies producing the hardware or platforms,
such as Apple, Samsung, Google or Microsoft.
Cameras on current mobile
devices still need to be connected to a small unit with an infrared camera to
work with the software, but Alstrup Johansen said next-generation devices would
very likely be able to use the software.
"At the moment, if
people want to use the software, they need an additional device that has either
been added to a current smartphone or tablet, or a new hardware device that is
not yet on the market," he said.
The technology is expected
to significantly change the way users play games and use apps, said John Paulin
Hansen, a former PhD supervisor for the four co-founders.
"I am convinced that
it will radically change things. It will be a completely hands-free interaction
with mobile devices," he said.
"The most interesting
effect will be for all kinds of games, education and entertainment
purposes," he said, adding that disabled people would also benefit
greatly.
Comments
Post a Comment