Click on Windows 8 Apps By Looking at Them

Tobii, a company that specializes in eye-tracking technology has developed new software, Gaze that works with Windows 8. Using Tobii's "Eye control device" the software can tell which parts of the screen your gaze is focussed on, with enough precision to detect which app you're interested in launching.

The Gaze features are general principles that can be applied to any software, interface or layer in your computer. Pointing out where your attention is at is fully automatic and natural; it’s just up to the user to decide when to activate a command or a click.

Tobii claim to be able to emulate every swipe motion available on Windows 8.  While it doesn't sound practical for use with a phone or tablet, it makes sense for touch-screen all-in-one PCs, because reaching out and touching your monitor still feels a bit awkward, and can lead to gorilla arm syndrome.

Decreasing the amount of physical contact by using clever tricks like this could well push touchscreen form factors into the realm of actually being useful.




Gaze will be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show next week.