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BARCELONA — How many more surprises will wearable tech spring on us? Maybe eye tracking for one. The EyeTribe, a company that already makes a $99 eye-tracking device for tablets and PCs, is working on one for smartwatches, too.
EyeTribe CEO Sune Alstrup showed me a development prototype of the exposed hardware on an elastic band, modded to work off a Sony SmartWatch . The idea, thus far, is to test the possibilities of a speed-reading app, Spritz, which throws one big word at a time for quick reads on small displays. Look away, and the text flow stops. Look up or down, and text flow speeds up or slows down.
The Eye Tribe shows you the future of eye tracking (pictures)
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The watch hardware was a non-working prototype, but I tried Spritz on a PC using EyeTribe hardware, and it worked as advertised. Why on a smartwatch? Alstrup explained that it could help manage applications on small screens, or even help save battery life: paired with an accelerometer, the eye-tracking hardware could activate, then only turn on the display when your eyes were specifically on it.
Another hardware trick for smartwatches? Sure, why not. It’s early days for wearables.
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