To expanding its presence in the world of virtual reality (VR), Facebook-owned Oculus has acquired The Eye Tribe. The Danish startup is known for its eye-tracking hardware and is equally popular for an open source software that has helped many developers build different eye-tracking applications.
Founded back in 2011 by alumni of the IT University of Copenhagen, The Eye Tribe offers eye-tracking technology to developers. The startup also designs its affordable eye trackers that would be the main point of focus for Oculus.
“The Eye Tribe intends to become the leading provider of eye control technology by licensing to vendors in the consumer technology industry,” describes The Eye Tribe on its official website.
The Eye Tribe was initially powering native hardware, but it recently extended its presence and started supporting some ongoing VR developments. At the MWC last year, the company showcased its eye-tracking solution on Samsung GearVR.
‘Most popular open source software’
Alongside hardware, The Eye Tribe is enabling eye-tracking among various software solutions. The startup has its open source ITU Gaze Tracker framework that provides eye tracking over off-the-shelf components such as webcams and video cameras. This solution is touted to be the “most popular open source eye-tracking software” for developers.
Facebook’s Oculus is likely to use a mix of hardware and software through the latest acquisition. Ultimately, it would set the pitch for the next-level of VR.
