CES 2017: SMI to Bring Eye Tracking to Standalone VR Devices

SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI), leaders in eye tracking technology, will bring robust and reliable eye tracking to future standalone virtual reality (VR) platforms as demonstrated with the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ VR820 reference platform at CES® 2017.

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/453736/PRNE_SMI_Qualcomm_Image.jpg )

SMI eye tracking is a proven technology in computer and tablet screens, eye tracking glasses, and will help the next generation augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets - both standalone VR head mounted displays (HMDs) and smartphone slot-ins.

The Snapdragon VR820 reference platform is designed to allow customers to quickly develop standalone HMDs optimized for VR content and applications, while meeting the processing and performance demands of an all-in-one (AIO), dedicated VR headset.

"We believe that our eye tracking technology and Snapdragon reference platforms will have significant implications for the future of mobile standalone VR," said SMI Director OEM Business Christian Villwock. "The Snapdragon VR820 reference platform can help accelerate the development of new standalone VR devices and content, and our eye tracking technology is a key component for next generation products."

"With Qualcomm Technologies' great engineering support we have significantly optimized our technology, and we are confident we will be able to achieve even lower processing loads with shorter latency for the eye tracking. Both of these factors are expected to be instrumental in attaining the very best eye tracking performance in standalone VR," added Mr Villwock.

"Eye tracking is an important technology for the future of VR, as it can potentially improve immersion through more intuitive interactions and visual quality enhancements when paired with Snapdragon processors," said Hugo Swart, senior director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Eye tracking has a roadmap of benefits in mobile and standalone VR headsets. Gaze interaction, social presence, foveated rendering, personal display calibration and analytical insights are all potential uses that OEMs and application developers will be able to utilize."

Mr Villwock concluded: "Eye tracking is set to become a 'must have' in VR systems. We are proud to work with Qualcomm Technologies, a leader in VR and AR, to bring these benefits to the mobile VR community of the future."

SMI's eye tracking technology, working along the Snapdragon VR820 platform, will be demonstrated at the Qualcomm Technologies booth at CES, Central Hall #10948.

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 http://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]

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Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

SOURCE SensoMotoric Instruments GmbH (SMI)