Apple’s patent on Gaze detection in a 3D mapping environment has led to recent media reports speculating whether apple will bring eye-tracking technology to the Mac and replace the keyboard and mouse with eye control.
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Eye-tracking technology manufacturers such as Tobii use IR light to illuminate the eye, then capture the reflection position of the cornea through the IR camera module, and then use this as a base from which to estimate the line of sight of the eye and calculate the eye movement. Although this solution is more accurate, it requires better sensors and computing power, so it is mainly used in medical products and academic research.
Apple’s patent is between the first two. It first uses 3D depth of field map to obtain the contour of facial features, determine the position of eyes, and then conducts image analysis specifically for the eye part. Although the accuracy may be poor, the required performance and cost will be less, which is favorable for the application of this scheme in digital consumer electronics products. But the norm for eye tracking or there will be a big burden of computing performance, so the early stage of the apple should give priority to lock in PC products such as Mac, then gradually expand to other products, apple main purpose to apply for a patent or the patent layout screens, so also not so fast in recent years has introduced eye-tracking function of Mac, According to the patent design, the Mac would have to be equipped with 3D sensors.
The outbreak of eye tracking technology is not used for growth Even apple products began to pick up the eye tracking, it is also hard to prompt this rapid development and penetration, the reason is that the eye tracking can only provide the vector data, can’t make a move vector, in addition to like the mouse can also click on the select, although have manufacturers design through the blink of an eye, or stare at residence time in order to determine the function, But the former is easy to misjudge, and long-term use can cause eyestrain, as for the latter with the direction of the data input at the same time, so for a long time, there has been no solution, combined with the eye control need to be familiar with and trained to use, not carry will naturally lead to manufacturers, consumer also won’t deliberately to use this feature.
Even if apple USES this technology, it is hard to drive the other manufacturers and markets interested in eye tracking, what’s more, apple is not using eye-tracking as a means of operation, and can assist other functions in data, auxiliary gestures, for example, so it’s difficult to eye-tracking technology became an independent application function in outbreak period, but in the manufacturer’s spare capacity, As a means of supporting other functions.