Inspired by a hackathon project, Native eye-tracking support comes to Windows 10

The traditional keyboard and mouse (or trackpad) interface for desktop and laptop computers works for most people, but for a whole contingent of people with limited mobility or other conditions, it just isn’t an option. Eye tracking has long been an option, but it’s taken until now for it to get official native support in Windows.

Microsoft announced the feature in a blog post, explaining its origin in a company hackathon back in 2014. Former NFL player Steve Gleason, whose movement is limited by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, suggested helping the many folks in situations like him to effectively interact with computers.

A hackathon team, Ability EyeGaze, put together a wheelchair that could be controlled by gaze-tracking software on a Surface. The hack was impressive enough to take first place, but it also attracted the attention of the Windows team, which started looking at other applications of the technology.

Three years later (that is to say, last week), Satya Nadella used this year’s hackathon as a venue to announce that eye tracking would soon be natively supported in Windows 10. Leading eye-tracking hardware maker Tobii is the first vendor to be supported.

Users of the beta, available now, will get an onscreen mouse, keyboard and text-to-speech interface. (I’ve asked the company for more specifics.)

Tobii’s software already allows certain actions, like switching between apps or dismissing notifications with a gaze. It detailed a few new capabilities in a blog post of its own, but a representative told me that the best is yet to come:

[N]ative integration in Windows 10 opens the door for faster and easier development of eye tracking applications and accessories. With native eye control, Microsoft insiders and enthusiasts have an easier path towards developing a growing ecosystem of eye tracking applications for assistive, productivity or gaming purposes for compatible devices such as the Tobii 4C.

Official support means deeper hooks in the OS, official Microsoft team members assigned to support and development and all kinds of other good stuff.

We’re a long way from real universal accessibility, but making commitments like this one at least creates a foundation on which to build an inclusive infrastructure. Details of the eye-tracking software will be on Microsoft’s accessibility page for Windows soon.

More@ https://www.technapping.com

Source: Techcrunch

Comments

WTF is bitcoin cash and is it worth anything?

Early yesterday morning bitcoin’s blockchain forked — meaning a separate cryptocurrency was created called bitcoin cash . The way a fork works is instead of creating a totally new cryptocurrency (and blockchain) starting at block 0, a fork just creates a duplicate version that shares the same history. So all past transactions on bitcoin cash’s new blockchain are identical to bitcoin core’s blockchain, with future transactions and balances being totally independent from each other. For practical matters, all this really means is that everyone who owned bitcoin before the fork now has an identical amount of bitcoin cash that is recorded in bitcoin cash’s forked blockchain. But it’s not exactly this easy. If you control your own private keys, or hold your bitcoin in an exchange that said it would credit users’ balances with bitcoin cash, you’re fine and can access your newfound cryptocurrency right now. If you held your bitcoin with a provider like Coinbase, which said before the fork t...

Google Maps suggests BlaBlaCar for long-distance rides

Google Maps on Android and iOS now has a new transportation option. If you live in a country where French startup BlaBlaCar operates, you can now open the BlaBlaCar app and book a ride straight from Google Maps. Google isn’t adding a new tab just for BlaBlaCar. Instead, BlaBlaCar appears as a new option in the public transportation tab. For instance, if you’re looking at ways to go from Paris to Lyon, Google Maps suggests taking the TGV train — and now also BlaBlaCar. The app gives you an ETA for each transportation mode so that you can compare how long it’s going to take if you opt for the train or BlaBlaCar. Google Maps uses the same ETA for BlaBlaCar and a normal car ride. It also estimates the cost of a BlaBlaCar ride. BlaBlaCar is a ridesharing service for long-distance rides between two cities. It has tens of millions of members in dozens of countries. Think about it as a sort of Airbnb for carpooling. When you are driving from one city to another, BlaBlaCar can help you fi...

Carwow, a UK startup that helps you buy a new car, raises $39M Series C

Carwow , a platform that helps you buy a new car, has closed $39 million in Series C funding. The round was led by new investor Vitruvian Partners, with existing investors Accel Partners and Balderton Capital also participating. At today’s exchange rate it brings total funding to approximately $62.6 million. Founded in late 2010, Carwow originally launched as a car review aggregator before pivoting to become a site that claims to improve the experience of buying a new car. It allows consumers to compare offers online and buy directly from ‘trusted’ dealers that are registered with the platform, specifically avoiding the arduous but otherwise necessary requirement to haggle over price and in a way that potentially introduces more transparency. Specifically, through Carwow you can research, select and configure new cars before receiving and offers from U.K. franchised dealers. The idea is that you can then make an informed decision on those offers based on price, location, dealer rating...

Technapping

Search This Blog