SMI Launches HTC Vive with High Performance Eye Tracking

TELTOW, Germany, July 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Eye tracking @ 250 Hz turns top-selling VR device into immersive visual lab

SensoMotoric Instruments has unveiled an eye tracking HTC Vive with 250Hz sampling rate, offering professionals and researchers a fully controllable and immersive environment for visual studies.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160727/393514 )

The HTC Vive with SMI scientific grade eye tracking allows the integrated study of interaction and perception in a wide range of sectors covering Neuroscience, Psychology, Vision Science, Medicine, Marketing Research, Human Factors, training for sports and professionals and more.

Full control over 360° images, videos or interactive environments allows users to create, and in turn analyze, more realistic scenarios to study and train human activities. Immersive environments can also be integrated with motion, manual interaction and biosensors.

The SMI eye tracking HTC Vive has a true binocular 250 Hz eye tracking sampling rate, yielding scientific grade eye tracking data. To achieve this, the Vive has been modified with the addition of small cameras and structured illumination that works with SMI's leading computer vision algorithms. SMI's up-to-date eye tracking platform is proven in business, universities and research laboratories around the world with more than 250,000 users.

Launching the product today SMI product manager Dr Meike Mischo said: "We are proud to be able to offer such a truly innovative solution to the scientific and professional communities. The high level of immersion will move studies much closer to reality, yet provide full control and excellent eye tracking data."  

SMI's solution has been welcomed by Prof. Gabriel J. Diaz of the Rochester Institute of Technology in the USA who said it will benefit his study of predictive redirection of gaze in 3D environments.

"Now that SMI will offer a 250 Hz eye tracking integration into the HTC Vive, which offers native tracking of the head and hands, it will be easier than ever to move beyond the confines of the traditional computer display, and closer to the natural viewing environment," Prof. Diaz said.

The eye tracking HTC Vive can be used in two ways. Out-of-the-box it works with SMI's highly-regarded Experiment Suite™ allowing for 360° photos and 360° video to be used as stimuli with the data analyzed by the BeGaze™ software. It also comes with an SDK and plugins for popular VR engines such as Unity, Unreal and WorldViz Vizard, which allows for easy connection to motion capture, EEG and other external solutions.

WorldViz President Peter Schlueer said: "Combining SMI's technology with our VR development software Vizard allows researchers and professionals to create VR applications with real-time gaze interaction in the HTC Vive. This instant user interaction, naturally triggered by the eye gaze, gives those involved in market research, sports training, behavioral research, neuroscience and many other fields an incredibly powerful and one-of-a-kind solution for studying how people view, navigate and interact with environments."

At Siggraph 2016 in Anaheim, California, SMI is showcasing the eye tracking HTC Vive at booth 472.

About SMI 

SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) has been a world leader in eye tracking technology for 25 years, developing and marketing eye & gaze tracking systems for scientists and professionals, as well as OEM and medical solutions for a wide range of applications. Find out more at www.smivision.com. Follow @SMIeyetracking on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.

Media Contacts
SensoMotoric Instruments GmbH (SMI)
Tim Stott
+49(0)162-271-61-66
[email protected]

SOURCE SensoMotoric Instruments GmbH (SMI)