New Tobii Partnership Paves the Way for Next-gen Eye-tracking Tech in XR Headsets

Eye-tracking company Tobii announced it’s partnering with Prophesee to develop its next-generation of eye-tracking for AR/VR headsets and smart glasses, which will be based on Prophesee’s unique event-based vision system.

In short, Prophesee makes specialized cameras and sensors that work more like human eyes. Instead of recording everything like standard camera, their technology only captures changes, such as movement or light changes, making it faster, more compact and importantly more power efficient. Applications have included self-driving cars, industrial machines, smartphones, but also soon XR headsets and smart glasses with the help of Tobii.

The collaboration is said to combine Tobii’s industry leading eye-tracking platform with Prophesee’s event-based sensor technology, which the companies say will enable them to develop an “ultra-fast and power-efficient eye-tracking solution, specifically designed to meet the stringent power and form factor requirements of compact and battery-constrained smart eyewear.”

“Event-based vision is a perfect match for the growing demand for low-power, always-on sensing in next-generation wearable devices,” said Luca Verre, co-founder and CEO of Prophesee. “This partnership builds on a strong foundation of collaboration between our teams and expands our joint capabilities into the eye-tracking space. With Tobii’s proven leadership in eye tracking, combined with our experience in event-based sensing, we aim to set a new standard for what’s possible in AR/VR and smart eyewear.”

Emma Bauer, Tobii’s Senior Vice President of Integrations, calls smart glasses “one of the most demanding segments for eye tracking,” as it requires ultra-low power, high performance, and seamless integration into a standard glasses form factor.

“Through partnering with Prophesee, we add event-based sensors as a complement to our existing camera technologies, giving our customers even more options and flexibility when designing their products,” Bauer says.

As the global leader in eye-tracking, Stockholm, Sweden-based Tobii has been one of the first companies to supply eye-tracking to consumer VR headsets with its slim and effective eye-tracking modules, allowing for thing like foveated rendering, social VR immersion, and automatic interpupillary distance (IPD) regulation—only three of the many reasons why eye-tracking is a game changer for XR.

Nowadays, you’ll find Tobii eye-tracking tech in a host of modern headsets, including PlayStation VR 2, Pixel Crystal, Play for Dream MR, as well as the 2019-era HTC Vive Pro Eye.