SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) has debuted a 3D eye tracking device that offers what the company describes as “real-time gaze interaction” in virtual environments.
“The [pair of] smart glasses combine mobile eye tracking with realistic 3D user experience,” an SMI rep explained.
“This gives completely new insights into a user’s interaction, for example while navigating through virtual urban spaces or while looking at 3D product designs.”
As expected, the SMI 3D spectacles are worn like a normal pair of glasses, with eye-tracking enabled via two small cameras on the rim of the glasses, along with a scene camera that records the field of view of the user.
Interestingly, the eye tracker is also capable of detecting the eye distance of the wearer by measuring the eyes’ vergence, which effectively optimizes the 3D experience for individual physiognomies.
The result? 6D gaze vectors on objects are calculated automatically, with virtual content presented in real-time dependent on the gaze interaction of the user with the environment.
SMI’s eye-tracking system currently supports leading head and motion tracking technologies such as A.R.T., Vicon, WorldViz and Kinect via its VRPN interface.
