Hasta La Gadget!

Tobii’s eye-tracking technology continues to make its way to mainstream devices. We’ve seen it work with laptops, arcade machines and Windows 8 tablets, and now Tobii has partnered with SteelSeries to release the EyeX, an eye-tracking accessory meant to work with PC games.

In case you’re not familiar with Tobii’s technology, its eye tracker uses microprojectors to beam near-infrared light to the users’ eyes. Then the trackers’ sensors analyze the reflections of that light along with the user’s facial features to accurately detect where he’s looking.

In the demo below, Tobii shows three ways that eye-tracking can be used to augment StarCraft II. First is the ability to move the view to a particular location by looking at an enlarged view of the mini-map (i.e. a map). Second is the ability to center the view to the point where the user is looking, and finally the ability to order units where to move, attack and more just by looking at the target. Skip to around 2:45 in the video for the demo:

The EyeX can also be used in e-sports broadcasts and to help developers improve their game by showing where a player is looking as he’s playing. Skip to around 12:30 in the video below to see that function in action:

As you can see the hardware seems quite capable, but it’s not going to succeed if developers don’t integrate it – and integrate it well– into their games.

Tobii & SteelSeries will release EyeX developer kits this year for $195 (USD), but for a limited time they can be bought for a steep discount: $95 for US customers and €75 for non-US customers. Just enter the promo code ‘CES2014′ on Tobii’s online shop when prompted. As with its tablet incarnation, I can see the EyeX being a boon not just for creating better or new ways to play games, but to help the disabled play conventional games as well. I hope developers and hardware hackers will explore that possibility too.

[via Tobii via Destructoid]

One of the many gadgets unveiled before the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) – really guys, if you keep preempting the show CES 2015 might as well be held this December – the 27″ Philips 272G5DYEB monitor is one of the first monitors to have NVIDIA G-Sync built-in. In theory, this means the monitor’s refresh rate is not static; instead it’s synchronized to how fast your PC’s graphics card can render a given frame. This should eliminate the annoying screen tearing associated with graphics-intensive video.

You can read up on G-Sync on NVIDIA’s website, but NCIX made a great summary of the technology, including its advantage over V-Sync, which is the current workaround to screen tearing. Skip to about 1:20 in the video for the explanation.

You might also want to check out Engadget’s footage of NVIDIA’s long-winded demo of G-Sync from a few months ago. I suggest you skip to around 9:40 in the video so you can easily see G-Sync’s (apparent) advantage over a computer using V-Sync.

Aside from having an adjustable refresh rate, Philips’ 27″ 1080p monitor also has an adjustable body. It tilts, pivots and swivels and its height is adjustable as well.

As you can see from its spec sheet, one drawback of the monitor is that it only has a DisplayPort input. I think G-Sync has something to do with this, because the first monitor to be compatible with G-Sync, the ASUS VG248QE also loses its HDMI and VGA inputs when upgraded with the G-Sync modification kit released last year. You still have a few months to weigh your options though. Philips says the 272G5DYEB monitor will be released in the second quarter of this year for $649 (USD).

Pure, which has debuted a couple new products here at CES, has detailed the technology it uses to offer its Jongo multi-room music streaming setup, something that works via both … Continue reading

CES 2014 is upon us, and even though I can’t yet set foot into any booths, plenty of companies are trying to get a jump on things with early product announcements. Perhaps one of the biggest items we’ll see at this year’s show – based on sheer size – is LG’s massive 105-inch Ultra HD TV.

This enormous set offers a large curved screen with a resolution of 5120 x 2160 pixels, which LG is calling “5K”. Yes, kids – this set has over 11 million pixels. Of course, my point and shoot camera has even more pixels, so I’m sure this isn’t the end of the display resolution wars. The display has a 21:9 cinematic aspect ratio, and incorporates a Harmon Kardon sound system, offering enveloping 7.2 surround sound using only speakers in the display.

While I’m pretty sure I’ll never have one of these in my living room, I’m certainly looking forward to checking it out on the CES floor this week.

Measure your autonomous nervous system (ANS) with Phyode’s wristband, the W/Me wearable wellness tracker. Measure your pulse and your temperature, and see if you are passive, excitable, anxious, or pessimistic. Then just let the smartphone app coach you on breathing techniques to help you feel more balanced.