It seems that Samsung is not going to be the only company offering an eye-tracking feature in its Galaxy smartphones, as a new Israeli start-up company called uMoove has been developing this technology for the past three years and is now saying it will offer its eye- and head-tracking technology to anyone, including Apple and other device makers, The New York Times is reporting.
The company is planning to soon offer a software tool kit to apply its technology to applications. Company’s founder and chief executive Moti Krispil said that it was crucial that this technology be made available to everyone because it needs the support of thousands of developers to “create a real impact on the way people interact with devices”. He added that the uMoove tool kit will initially work with iOS and Android software systems.
“We made a very important decision that the technology is so diverse that we cannot just allow it to be confined,” he said. He said uMoove would release its tool kit in a few months. On Tuesday, it started allowing people to register for its software tool kit on its Web site.
Applications using eye- and head-tracking can transform the way people use their devices to do things like browse the Web, play games and read books. The technology was initially developed to assist disabled persons, Mr. Krispil said.
uMoove’s technology uses a front-facing camera to track head and eye movements, either separately or in combination, and can be used even with the low-resolution cameras found on cheap cellphones.
