Windows 8 has a gorgeous Metro and finger-friendly swipe interface that’s perfectly fine but so 2011. All I want in my life in 2012 is Tobii, a company that’s made the future possible: you control Windows 8 with your eyes. Seriously, it knows exactly what you’re looking at when you’re looking at it. It’s instantaneous, it’s amazing, and I haven’t been this excited about technology.
When I first saw Tobii, I didn’t believe it would work well. You just look at it? And it does whatever you want? And that’s how you control Windows 8? And… that’s it? Yes! That’s why it’s so amazing. It’s as natural as seeing, as normal as looking at somebody when you talk.
Tobii’s eye-control device, which looks like a horizontal rectangle glass obelisk attached to the hinge of the laptop, is incredibly accurate. The system requires a personal calibration test before you use it and some unique finger movements (akin to a smartphone), but once you get settled in, it’s simply stunning. It’s sniper accurate, Tobii never missed my target by more than a few pixels. It’s lightning quick, I couldn’t even say my next move fast enough, because Tobii had recognised my eyesight already glanced away. And it can control all the swipe gestures available in Windows 8.
There was also an option to play an Asteroids-like game with Tobii, and everything that’s impressive about Tobii translates there too. The head movement tracking aspect of the game was a little odd, but I can’t get over how accurate its eye-tracking ability was. Look and zap. Look and zap.
Tobii is as amazing as multitouch once was, as impressive as the Wii once was and the Kinect is now, and a natural evolution of “the future”. I felt like I was using fairy tale tech in a generation defining sci-fi movie, rather than sitting in a plastic chair next to smelly people in a hall riddled with crappy gadgets that have no reason to exist. I don’t know how successful Tobii will be in the mainstream market but it’s this kind of technology that reminds me why I loved technology in the first place.
wow
Microsoft + 1
pretty cool indeed...
I worked for a company that was outfitting the Telstra building in Sydney a few years ago with a multi million dollar refit. They had this technology built into screens, they were apparently worth $60k and only a couple in the country. They used them for website design amongst other things, to get a heatmap of where users are looking to make the page more user friendly. Pretty cool.
WE ARE NOW LIVING IN THE FUTURE.
Still waiting on my flying car though...
No. We are living in the present, have lived in the past and will live in the future.
But right now, it is the present.
And it's called the present because it's a gift.
Awwww.
Puppies and kittens for everyone. Allergy sufferers get a goldfish.
No, no. no, you've got me all wrong. "THE FUTURE" is a period of time, like the Stone Age, or the Dark Ages, or even The Modern Age!
Your flying car will be available just after you get your $12,000,000 check from the guy in Zimbabwe who needs to get his money out of the country and wants to use your checking account to do the transfer. Your going to get 5,000,000 for your trouble.
Lucky you.
Windows eight is going to be a big step forward for M'soft, hopefully they will release XP's code to modders soon too!
This would actually be a good reason to keep the touch pad front end on for PC's too, which I switched off on my notebook! W8 FTW :)
Suggestion: It appears (from top video) you have to hold down a key and release to enter/click on something, a half a second longer blink would be better (or something else not defined by pressing a button).
Very cool for some disabilties.
Maybe a Wink :) That'd be cool
The first application I thought of was for the disabled. Imagine people with quadriplegia able to communicate and manage their own affairs with a system like this. Typing messages by looking at the keys. The applications are life changing.
Thats great! Wont have to buy a touchscreen. Get the Just the Tobii thing.
Maaabeee. . . Kinect? Or the next model Kinect?
So Kinect can still be useless for gaming?
Kinect for gaming was just a selling point.
The potential for Kinect goes WAY beyond gaming. Using it for games was just to get the innovation out there, to get people use to the idea and to get people developing for it.
I agree, I just hate Kinect for gaming and that people bought into it's obviously false concept.
MS should just buy this company and roll this stuff out for everyone, or they should bundle it with Win8 upgrades. The synergies with this and Kinect would be pretty good for them down the line, I'd reckon. Whatever, now that I know this exists I can't see myself using Win8 until I own it. Is there any idea of the cost at this stage?
Something tells me FPS games are going to block the use of this... otherwise everyone will get 100% headshots
This is all good and well. But I pity the bastards with a bung-eye that won't be able to use this stuff. Useless to those who are crosseyed or have a congenital twitch or shake in their eye movement..
@troy - I hope this works better than Telstra's one, because the Telstra website is a shambles!
Oh dear... the porno popup ads are going to LOVE this!
I think apple or google will snap these guys up soon
Cool trick, women control men wirelessly via vagina. Beat that?