The next big thing

Photo by Eye@CCPiXel.net.

While we're on the subject of eyes, let's consider a new technology developed by 3 recent Cornell University graduates - Aakash Jain, Abhilekh Agarwal, and Saurav Kumar - who now share a house together in California. While working full-time and with a minimum of sleep, the India nationals have spent nights and weekends creating software that turns the camera on any ordinary computing devices into eye-tracking technology. PredictGaze also has sophisticated facial and gesture recognition capability, and works in low-light conditions up to 12' away (see videos). Here are just a few of its practical uses:

• The pages of an e-book can be turned by looking at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
• The text of a long article on an iPhone will scroll down as the eye moves down the page.
• The channel on a smart TV can be changed by gazing at a corner of the screen.
• Games can be played by operating the controls with your eyes.
• Music can be muted by looking at your device’s camera and raising your finger to your lips in a “shhhh” gesture. 
• A movie on TV will pause when you walk out of the room and resume when you re-enter.

The software also has retail applications. A 4th man, ex-Yahoo executive Ketan Banjara, has been added on to develop PredictGaze's business and they will soon make an announcement about a big partnership. "These are the very earliest of days for PredictGaze, but you can expect big things to emerge from that garage in Santa Clara."

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Technology:

Rapid prototyping

Starlight camera

X-raying fossils

Airport security?

Leafsnap

Ocular engineering

Arm upgrade

Thoracosaurus thesis

Military amputees

Cheetah@28mph

Dimensionality