In early January a diverse team of Tobiians converged on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Our mission was clear — meet with the public, our partners, the media, and our customers to discuss the accelerating trend we are seeing (across geographies and across industries) for the inclusion of user-facing sensors in devices of every kind, from AR and VR HMDs, to mobile phones. From automotive applications, to personal computers.
We also came to CES to tell a simple story: That incorporating eye tracking technology into VR and AR headsets and chipsets leads to better devices and to better user experiences.
As it turns out, it seems that we hit on something powerful. Writers from Engadget, Wearable, Tom’s Hardware, Upload VR and Venturebeat (to name just a few) all weighed in on what they saw — and what it might mean for the future of AR and VR. You can read some of the stories here:
- Wearable: No more maybes: Eye tracking is the next step for VR, and it’s almost ready to go
- Engadget: Tobii proves that eye tracking is VR’s next killer feature
- Tom’s Hardware: Tobii’s Poised For Big Wins In VR Eye Tracking
- Upload VR: CES 2018: The 5 Biggest VR Tech Updates
- VentureBeat: The top trends of CES 2018: From almost autonomous vehicles to sensors everywhere
- Tom’s Hardware: Most Promising VR Tech: Tobii Eye Tracking
In addition to meeting with journalists and analysts, we were also honored to participate in some interesting conversations about the future of entertainment, from the new possibilities that emerge with AR and VR, to how eye tracking may create a new way to understand the worlds of esports and competitive gaming.
Tobii Tech President Oscar Werner in the Engadget panel.
- Tobii’s Oscar Werner participates in an Engadget panel on the future of entertainment in AR/VR.
- Tobii’s Matt Tullis joins our partner Alienware’s discussion about the future of esports.
And on the show floor, representatives from Tobii Dynavox, Tobii Pro, and Tobii Tech spoke to attendees about all the ways that Tobii is driving innovation for accessibility and assisted communication, for research and human understanding, and toward bringing the new possibilities that eye tracking enables to a broad and informed consumer audience.
Over the course of four days on the show floor, thousands of visitors lined up for demos and a great number of interested technology enthusiasts experienced the power and promise of eye tracking for the first time.
Visitors line up at the Tobii booth
The biggest lines were for the VR demos, where visitors could experience some of the ways that eye tracking helps to make the VR experience more immersive. Attendees saw how eye tracking enables digital avatars to respond naturally to a user’s glance, how a simple action such as throwing stones becomes more familiar and satisfying when the motion of a hand-held controller is coordinated with the accuracy of a user’s gaze, and how much more intuitive it feels to be able to select a menu item, or adjust a setting, with just a quick look.
With a solid CES behind us, it’s time to turn our attention to a very busy few months ahead. This is going to be an exciting year for Tobii — and we have a lot more of our better devices/better experiences story to tell.
Oh, and if you are planning to attend GDC in San Francisco in March, Tobii will be in the South hall in booth #335 — we hope to see you there! (We may even have a few new things to show you! 😊)
