eye tracking

Apple patent application eyes eye-tracking technology

Apple may be aiming to challenge Samsung over eye-tracking technology.,

An Apple patent application, dubbed "Electronic Devices With Gaze Detection Capabilities," was published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application describes a feature in which your mobile device reacts to the movement of your head or eyes.

Turn your head or eyes away from the device, and the screen dims. Look back at the device, and the screen returns to life. Looking away could also put the entire device in standby mode, meaning certain functions are powered down to preserve battery power. In yet … Read more

Episode 37: Always On returns with Galaxy S4, Surface Pro, eye tracking and more!

Welcome to Season 4, everyone! It's only been a few weeks since we said goodbye, but it's felt like a lifetime. We've been busy planning and shooting the upcoming summer season, and seeking out the tech wonders of the world to keep the Always On train in constant motion. This season we've got it all! We'll be road-tripping in pimped-out RVs, opening up the biggest phablets of them all, road testing everything from the Chromebook Pixel to action cameras with motorcross pros, and even visiting NASA's newest space exploration vehicles. Plus a serious summer … Read more

LG brings SmartVideo eye recognition to Optimus G Pro

LG this week announced that Smart Video eye recognition will be coming to the LG Optimus G Pro. As part of an upcoming "Value Pack" software update, the feature will be made available for select future LG premium smartphones.

The Smart Video technology utilizes the front-facing camera to track the viewer's eyes to automatically control playback of videos. For example, looking away from the phone will cause the video to pause and returning your gaze will resume the clip.

In addition to the Smart Video feature, LG has introduced a dual-camera function that simultaneously snaps photos from … Read more

Eye scrolling in the Galaxy S4? Not so fast, says Bloomberg

Join CNET on Thursday, March 14, at 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET for live coverage of the Samsung Galaxy S4 event

If you've been eager to get a glimpse of eye scrolling in the Galaxy S4, Bloomberg has a reality check for you.

The New York Times, citing sources, earlier this month said the latest version of Samsung's flagship smartphone would include technology to monitor users' eyes and translate that motion into action: "For example, when users read articles and their eyes reach the bottom of the page, the software will automatically scroll down … Read more

Rumor Has It: What we will (and won't) get in the Galaxy S4

Rumor Has It is back, and just in time for one of the hottest product releases this year.

On Thursday, Samsung is hosting an event at Radio City Music Hall in New York, where it is expected to unveil the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4.

Of course you can't have a huge product announcement without miles and miles of rumors surrounding it, and that's where we come in.

Special guest co-host Casey Newton helps me weigh in on all the rumors: will it come in different colors? Will it include eye-tracking software? Will it be unbreakable? We won'… Read more

Galaxy S4 could have eye-scrolling tech

CNET Update has eye-scrolling superpowers:

Samsung Galaxy S4 reports continue to roll in before the smartphone's big reveal on March 14. The latest report: being able to scroll down just by looking at the bottom of the screen. The New York Times suggests it could be related to Samsung's patent on Eye Scroll and Eye Pause. But this technology isn't far fetched. The Galaxy S3 camera already tracks eye movement to prevent a screen from dimming while users are watching a movie or reading. And at CES, TheEyeTribe demonstrated how easy and affordable it was to install … Read more

Tobii Rex: Control a Windows 8 PC with your eyes

Whatever you may feel about Windows 8, it's sparked a number of interesting hybrid designs. Now you can count the Tobii Rex, an eye-controlled interface for Windows 8, as another innovation that works with Microsoft's latest operating system.

First seen at last year's CES, the Rex is an eye-tracking peripheral that works with Tobii's proprietary Gaze interface to navigate around a Windows 8 computer. The stick-like device attaches to the base of your computer screen and connects via a USB port. … Read more

Detecting schizophrenia: The eyes have it

More than a century ago, doctors first realized that people with psychotic illnesses also suffer from impaired eye movements. Now researchers out of the University of Aberdeen in the U.K. have taken that observation and truly put it to the test with high resolution cameras and video software.

The result: a computer model based on a series of simple eye-tracking trials that has distinguished schizophrenics from healthy control subjects with 98.3 percent accuracy.

"It has been known for over 100 years that individuals with psychotic illnesses have a variety of eye movement abnormalities, but until our study, … Read more

Eye-popping illusion lets you write with gaze alone

Last month, a paralyzed man sent his first tweet using eye movements. A new technology out of France could allow him not only to type, but to draw and sign his name in cursive on a computer.

The technique, described in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology, relies on a novel head-mounted display that uses a camera to track eye movements and then relays that movement data to a computer.

Discovered by a Paris scientist studying optical illusions, the technique tricks the neuromuscular machinery into overcoming a natural phenomenon known as saccadic eye movements. … Read more

Hey, look! Lenovo's got an eye-controlled laptop

When we first heard about Lenovo's new eye-controlled laptop, we worried that we'd have to stop winking at our monitors every time Justin Bieber popped up in our browser--or risk a seriously messy desktop. Fortunately, the eye-tracking technology is reportedly highly accurate and probably wouldn't be overly sensitive to our odd little tics.

The functional laptop prototype, being demonstrated this week at the CeBit tech fair in Hannover, Germany, lets you point, select, and scroll with your eyes alone. With a stare, for example, you can make a cursor appear, zoom in on pictures or maps, or switch between open windows and browse e-mails and documents. To increase battery life, the computer can auto-dim and brighten the screen when it recognizes your peepers. Also, as demonstrated at CeBit, gamers can glance to pull off actions like burning up incoming asteroids.

The laptop tracks eye movements by shining infrared lights into the user's eyes; hidden cameras then detect the glint in the retinas. The system needs to be adjusted to fit each individual user and works for those with or without eyeglasses. … Read more