Back in 2014 I ordered several eye tracking systems. The first one to arrive was The Eye Tribe, which is a small and inexpensive system. The device worked well, until the company updated their software, but the device no longer supported it due to firmware incompatibilities. As a result I could not longer use it. It seems that trying to update the firmware also can break the device. But, even before I ordered The Eye Tribe I had placed an order for another eye tracking system: the Tobii EyeX.
While I got the Tobii EyeX Controller a few months after The Eye Tribe I have to say that I did nothing. I took pictures of the box contents and then got busy with life. Today I'm releasing images of the box contents, a few details, and some thoughts when compared to The Eye Tribe. If you are interested then continue below.
The box. Keep in mind that this is a Development kit. There are other versions of the same device which are closer to the final version of the product--I'm talking about the Steelseries Eye Tracker.
The box contents.
How to setup guide. The device can mount to most computer monitors via included magnetic strips.
The Tobii EyeX uses USB 3.0 cables. The length of the cable is sufficient for most cases.
Front side view of the controller.
The back side view of the controller.
The top back side of the controller is magnetic.
The side port for the USB connection.
There are three sensors total. This is a close-up image of one of the sensors.
The Tobii EyeX Controller is wider than The Eye Tribe.
When the device is in use the sensors light up with a red color.
The software is easy to setup and program. One issue with The Eye Tribe was the limitation on screen size (about 24 inches is the limit). The Tobii EyeX seems to support my Dell U3011 30-inch monitor--although it's better for better smaller screens.
Boxes of the two eye tracking systems.
One image showing the size differences of the two devices.
Last year, I begun programming with the Tobii EyeX Controller and did manage to achieve some results. The performance of the device is, I feel, better than The Eye Tribe unit. While it would be great if the eye tracking systems worked flawlessly I must say that this is not the case--the eyes are jittery creatures. However, it looks like people with some disabilities could use the device. From my experiments it looks like there would have to be major emphasis in applications with bigger buttons (like the touch-based apps) and an intuitive way of interaction by using both eyes. When I have more time I will post on YouTube a few demos on how I am implementing mouse control and actions. For now this is.
As a side note, gaming is one thing in which device can be implemented quite successfully. In the future we can expect many rich new experiences.
For more info check these links:
No comments:
Post a Comment