Valais-based and Idiap spin-off Eyeware is enhancing the gaming experience with cutting-edge eye-tracking technology.
Eyeware’s eye-tracking system promises to revolutionize online gaming experiences, allowing the use of webcams on computers, phones, or tablets as eye trackers in simulators that combine both head and eye tracking (e.g., for flight simulations). This technology not only enriches gamers’ immersion but also streamlines interactions with Windows PCs through gaze control.
Co-Founder Bastjan Prenaj explains: “The idea is to enhance interactions through computer vision algorithms.” Just as humans naturally read emotions through eye contact in conversation, Eyeware’s “Beam Eye Tracker” aims to bring this intuitive form of interaction to technological devices, offering gamers and PC users a more immersive way to engage with digital environments using just their gaze.
With the rise of live game streaming on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, this Valais-based start-up’s technology enables gamers to create more engaging content by overlaying eye-tracking visuals onto video feeds. This not only enhances viewer engagement but also offers players insights into improving their gaming techniques through eye reaction analysis.
A leap forward for video gaming technology
The “Beam Eye Tracker” transforms any webcam into an AI-assisted head and eye tracker, compatible with over 200 PC games via the OpenTrack extension, including titles like Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, and MSFS. Already on the market, Eyeware offers a free trial of their product, with the option to purchase unlimited use for USD 29.99 or a monthly subscription at USD 4.99.
Following its collaboration with AMD and partnership with Austrian sensor specialist AMS, the Beam Eye Tracker showcases Eyeware’s commitment to advancing AI-driven solutions in various sectors. The start-ups’s journey from an Idiap research spin-off to a pioneering force in machine perception AI technology continues to unfold, promising a future where technology understands human intentions as clearly as we see them in each other’s eyes.
