EyeVerify. With retinal scanning in phones, mobile biometric authentication is looking serious.

PC MAG STORY >>

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I must confess that the term "eyeprint" is new to me, but like any good pupil, I am always looking to learn.

While the term doesn't even have a wikipedia page yet (as of this writing), the use of retinal scans for identification is not something new. Military establishments and intelligence & law enforcement agencies across the globe have been using retinal-scanning authentication for years, and we know that employees of The United Federation of Planets will be using the technology many years from now.

But is retinal scanning about to go mainstream and mobile? A number of firms are working on bringing the technology to smartphone platforms. By using either the front-facing or back camera on a device, software could use the available hardware on the device to scan the user's retina for authentication either alone or in unison with other identifiers.

Here is a demo/pitch from a company called EyeVerify. At first look, this process seems a bit awkward for common tasks, like opening the lock screen. But biometrics in smartphones has certainly been creeping along with facial, fingerprint, voice recognition implemented in devices. And soon some company will come along and move biometrics from slightly gimmicky to truly magical. It's something to look forward.

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More look at it this way: "eyeCharm" piggybacks on a Kinect to bring eye-put to PCs.

MOBILE GEEKS STORY >>

KEY TRENDS: eye-put, natural user interface, Kinect

Gestures and words, thoughts and looks. User interfaces are changing. Naturally! Is it time for mobile device vendors to set their sights on non-touch input?

Here's another eye-put signal: "eyeCharm" from a startup called NUIA rides on top of a Microsoft Kinect. Hooked up to a PC, the accessory allows the user to control scrolling with eyeball movement.

Weather users will actually take to this new type of user interaction remains to be seen, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

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GWIC 2013. Be there. And see see Tiananmen Square.

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Breaking news: Samsung's Galaxy S IV might really be an eye phone!

Yes, even more just look at it this way! EYE-PUT.

NEW YORK TIMES STORY >>

TRENDS TO NOTE: eye-put, natural-user interfaces, biometrics, non-touch input

Samsung has been doing some great re-purposing of smartphone sensors. For example, Samsung's "SmartStay" feature uses the phone's front-facing camera to determine is a user is actually looking at the screen or not to maximize the use of battery juice.

And now, according to The New York Times, it looks like Samsung will be taking this further with "Eye Scroll:" when the user looks down at the end of a webpage, it will automatically scroll down to more info. It's a small convenience, but it's easy enough to envision a few use cases where this non-touch input could really be practical. And it shows that Samsung is taking marginal steps forward as it grows its lead in the handset market. All innovations great and small count for Samsung.

I've written about a number of "eye-put" developments over the past year. (Please see the eye-put signals on my blog here.) Is this something to look forward to? It could be, so other smartphone players had better see to it.

Related: Tobii's Gaze technology brings a new look to Windows 8:

MORE "Just think about it!" MORE "Just look at it this way!" Haier shows TV with eye-put, brain-computer interface!

TECH RADAR STORY >>

Here is another signal in support of eye-put and BCI. To be honest, this has been shown before. But this acts as a good reminder for device makers to be on top of new UI shifts.

At Haier's CES 2013 booth, their "TV of the future" shows the possibilities of eye movements and thought for input.

Video from 2011 showing BCI on a Haier television set:

Tobii or not Tobii? Will eye-tracking soon go mainstream as a UI element?

ENGADGET STORY >>

TOBII company homepage >>

Here we see another example of "eye-put." Is the eye phone trend for real?

Eye-tracking techniques could certainly solve several real-world usability flaws on PC and smartphone platforms and lead to advanced natural-user interfaces. In mobile devices, one of the more annoying real-world UI issues is that of screens jumping into dark battery-saver mode while you're actively reading an article.

Some device vendors are trying to address the issue. Samsung's "SmartStay" feature in the Galaxy S2, for example, uses the phone's front-facing camera to detect when the user's eyes are looking at or away from the display and adjusts the screen's lighting status accordingly. SmartStay is a nice thought, but it's not the thought that counts, it's the execution. User reviews of SmartStay have been mixed. Being pretty good usually isn't a strategic goal.

Tobii, a Swedish company which develops eye-tracking solutions, has introduced an eye-tracking accessory called "Rex" for Windows 8 machines. In essence, it enables the eyeball's gaze to act as a computer mouse.

There's some interesting potential uses for eye-tracking. Market researchers, for example, realize that gazes can be worth a thousand words. The use of eye-tracking input could cut across phones, computers, televisions, cars.

It could be time for platform vendors to be more forward looking and support looking forward.

Even more thinkput. Pong with your mind. Pong, you've come a long way baby!

via The New York TIMES >>

BRAIN PONG >>


Gestures, voice, eyeput, thinkput. Is touch about to get company.

Yes, the head games keep on coming. Here are some more cool examples of the potential of brain-computer interface.

For those of you in the audience old enough to do so, think back to the days when you first saw Pong and think how far computer games have come. Now let's think ahead 30 years or so and wonder how far mind-controlled input can go. Imagine how it can help the disabled. Prevent auto accidents. Exercise the mind.

If you haven't had a chance to try any BCI devices, please do so. It will make your head spin.

Brain Wave Pong by Cornell students, via ENGADGET

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYQfdA2tXbc

Brain Pong in New York. Photo via Figment Project

Is an eye phone in your future? What effect will eye-put have on UI, games and other apps?

SENSEYETECH >>

Are we now near to eye input?

Eye tracking has been used as a form of input for military projects for years. But now the hardware and software enablers are in place to scale the concept down from multi-billion dollar fighter jet contracts to mid-level consumer handsets.

Here's one interesting implementation eye-put by a Danish stat-up called SenseyeTech. The companies eye-control software, called Senseye, uses the device's front-facing camera to track the user's eye movement. API's would allow developers to use eye focus for input such as unlocking the device, answering the phone, scrolling through web pages, and even for gaming input.

Touch input has dominated the smartphone market for the past three years, and while voice input is beginning to allow some supplemental interactions, the market has botten rather boring. Will eye-put offer device manufacturers some opportunity to offer a touch of wow in what has become one of the world's dullest markets? I'd say the eyes have it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVCpUmLinXM