Eye-tracking has been at the top of mobile technology buzz lately. With the new Samsung Galaxy S4 as the first device on the market to deploy it, it's only a matter of time before iPhones and other smartphones come equipped with it. Cost has been a prohibitive factor in eye-tracking technology development, but startup 4tiitoo is ready to bring it to Microsoft's Kinect on Xbox 360 for just $60.
4tiitoo is still somewhat far from accomplishing its goal, although it plans to launch the eye-tracking device on Aug. 1. First, it seeks to raise at least $100,000 through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to develop its Nuia EyeCharm product. It would work as a clip-on for Kinect, using the infrared camera that it already comes with.
Once attached to Kinect, EyeCharm adds the necessary optics and special infrared illumination to figure out where your eyes are looking on a computer screen, VentureBeat reported. The eye-tracking feature allows you to control the device without a mouse or keyboard as the camera reads your eye movement.
Users can connect the Kinect for Xbox 360 using a USB converter cable or the PC. For $60, customers will get a suite of apps plus the Nuia EyeCharm device.
The Kickstarter page includes a video with demos of the eye-tracking working on applications such as games. The video includes Diablo III, Arma 2 and Minecraft. The company has already raised more than $35,000 and still has 22 days to go.
4tiitoo is just the latest tech company seeking to implement eye-tracking technology. As we reported last week, an Israeli company called uMoove has been developing for more than three years and plans to offer a software tool kit to help get the technology into iPhone and Android devices.
