Will Your Next Tablet Track Eye Movements?
The Tobii C12 isn’t the sort of tablet we usually talk about. It’s a full-fledged Windows 7 tablet, with the weight of a laptop to match. While we prefer something a little sleeker, with a user interface more conducive to working without a keyboard and mouse the C12 has one important trick up its sleeve: it knows where you’re looking.
This isn’t as simple as the Galaxy S III’s ability to recognize your stare and keep the phone from going into standby while you look at it; the C12 lets you use your eyes as a pointing device, looking at controls on the screen and blinking to actuate them.
The C12′s built for users with disabilities, but the technology sounds like it could be pretty darn useful if adapted for commercially available phones and tablets. It might not be the best input method for all circumstances, but if you’re in a meeting or something, and need to check your phone discreetly, maybe someday eye tracking will be around to help you out.