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Microsoft may be pushing touchscreen control as the wave of the future with Windows 8’s tiled Metro interface, but Tobii Technology thinks just swiping and pointing your way around an operating system is so, like, 2011. Tobii says its novel new "Tobii Gaze" control scheme, which mixes eye-tracking technology with a touchpad and is being shown off at CES next week, delivers superior control compared to both mice and touchscreens. Big words indeed!
Check out the video above to see Gaze in action. Basically, Tobii’s eye-tracking technology takes control of the on-screen cursor; it points to whatever you look at. Clicking the Gaze’s touchpad operates like your standard left-click. Tobii claims that its scheme feels much more natural than traditional touchscreen methods – especially when the touchscreen in question is vertical – and the interface leaves no question as to what’s being clicked, unlike touchscreens, which can have troubles navigating tightly-packed links when controlled by fat fingered individuals (like myself).
Quote time: "Pointing at something by looking at it is intuitive, natural and immediate. Using a mouse to do the same thing is less so, as it involves an intermediate step of moving a mouse-pointer around," Henrik Eskilsson, CEO, said in Tobii’s press release. "Gaze is as natural and intuitive as touch, as precise as the mouse and more ergonomic and effortless than both. Once you have experienced Gaze, a laptop without it feels just as ancient as a laptop without a touch pad."
It’s nifty, and Tobii has plenty of experience with eye-tracking tech. But can they pull this off cheaply enough for Joe and Jill Consumer to care? What are your first impressions of the Gaze?
Comments are closed on this article
Kinetic
January 05, 2012 at 3:30pm
I don't really see how this is intuitive... Especially given that you still have to use the touchpad to click. The gentleman on the video looks like he would benefit more from increasing the sensitivity of his touchpad or upping the DPI on his mouse more.
But that's just my opinion.
graydiggy
January 07, 2012 at 6:35pm
It could open doors for improvement. It could benefit amputees in the future. Simply looking at something, then possibly using a gesture or some sort of body movement to select an item. I for one prefer a mouse, but this could really be beneficial to the future of technology for everybody.
