Tobii Pro Glasses 2: Eye Tracking Research In The Field

[scolaner]

Often, the next great bump in consumer or enthusiast technology comes from a lab that has entirely different goals in mind. Such is the case with Tobii's Pro wing, which recently announced the Tobii Pro Glasses 2.

Tobii Pro Glasses 2: Eye Tracking Research In The Field : Read more

 

[dstarr3]

This tech is very impressive, the products that have already made it to market reportedly work very well, and this is HUGELY beneficial to those with various disabilities.

But boy, are they having a hard time figuring out why people who don't need this should want and buy it. I understand that they need to push this into the mainstream market if they want an honest shot at making money, but it's very much a solution seeking a problem in a lot of cases.

 

[bit_user]

But boy, are they having a hard time figuring out why people who don't need this should want and buy it. I understand that they need to push this into the mainstream market if they want an honest shot at making money, but it's very much a solution seeking a problem in a lot of cases.

For VR and AR, it's not only a performance optimization, but also a potent user interface component.

In the case of AR, that's going to be even more important. When you're walking around, you might not have your hands free, for gestural interfaces (or don't want to be seen pointing around).

The problem is that they need to hang on, until the market catches up. They're probably hoping to get bought by someone like Apple, Samsung, Facebook, or Microsoft. Perhaps the retail market research service was done partly as a pitch to Google, though I'm sure they're twice shy about the prospect of Glass 2.

 

[scolaner]

This tech is very impressive, the products that have already made it to market reportedly work very well, and this is HUGELY beneficial to those with various disabilities.

But boy, are they having a hard time figuring out why people who don't need this should want and buy it. I understand that they need to push this into the mainstream market if they want an honest shot at making money, but it's very much a solution seeking a problem in a lot of cases.

I don't know their financials, but this is not a "hey here's some cool tech, maybe it will catch on play." This is a real thing that works, and it's been designed for research. They make money when companies/institutions buy the gear or pay Tobii to conduct their studies. (See the end, where I mentioned pricing.)

But I do think that this sort of application could certainly be adapted for the mainstream market.

 

[scolaner]

They're probably hoping to get bought by someone like Apple, Samsung, Facebook, or Microsoft. Perhaps the retail market research service was done partly as a pitch to Google, though I'm sure they're twice shy about the prospect of Glass 2.

I don't think that's the case. Tobii is actually a fairly large company with multiple wings and an international presence. I think they're hoping to license their tech to everyone. And also keep up their research business.