Computer navigation via gestures and hand movements was neat…..about 2 years ago. The next generation peripheral input is coming to us from Tobii’s Gaze eye tracking. Simply use your pupils to point at an item and the mouse pointer will move there.. This technology was recently included in Popular Mechanic’s Best of CES 2012.

After a short calibration, Gaze is ready to go. While demoing the system, I was surprised at how accurate the cursor moved with my pupils. While the pupils were used to move the cursor, “mouse clicking” was not programmed into a human gesture like the blink of the eye, which was my first guess. The Xbox Kinect handles “mouse clicking” by holding the cursor still over an option to acknowledge a click. But instead, I was instructed to push the spacebar on the keyboard, something I am sure will be revamped when this solution hits Windows 8 Metro. You heard that loud and clear, Tobii had a working Gaze demo on Windows 8 Metro.

Windows 8 Metro controlled by Tobii Gaze.

Tobii’s technology may not only be used for moving cursors, but also for video game design applications. I was told that Electronic Arts uses this hardware to plan the location of HUD’s, and other gameplay elements. Over-utilized sections of the screen could then be redesigned to direct a player’s eyes to another part of the screen.

While speaking to Vincent Tallec, Creative Director at Tobii, I was given other gaming applications. Imagine playing a video game where directly looking at a squirrel on the ground will scare it into a nearby tree. Or maybe a zombie that only attacks when you make direct eye contact with it. The horror gaming genre could soon be in for an overhaul and Tobii’s technology will certainly help us get there. Impressive stuff that is best deserving for a Best of Show.

SOURCE: Tobii, Popular Mechanics