Immersive new app allows people to control their iPhone via eye-tracking tech
Athena Accessible Technology has launched an innovative free app that allows users to control an iPhone with their eyes.
The app, Athena Eye Control, uses eye tracking and AI to detect when, where, and how fast a person is reading and automatically scrolls the display accordingly.
There are no new user behaviours that have to be learned in order to operate the technology. The individual simply reads, and the app does the rest. If the user stops reading or looks away, the app detects that and stops scrolling.
By enabling eye-controlled scrolling, users will no longer have to touch or tap their display when reading digital content, the firm emphasises.
The eye-controlled user interface provides better accessibility to people who have trouble physically holding or touching their phone or device. Athena Accessible Technology involved people with disabilities in the development and testing process, including people with limb differences, quadriplegia, and chronic pain.
The first application of Athena’s technology is a Safari extension for iPhone. When the individual is viewing certain content in the Safari website browser, Athena’s blue icon will be displayed on the screen. The user needs to tap the Athena icon to enable eye-controlled scrolling.
There is also a custom reader mode that strips out adverts and popups to provide a less distracting reading experience.
Users can further share articles and content from other apps or browsers directly to Athena. They tap the share icon, select Athena from the share sheet, and the page will be loaded into Athena.
The company estimates that there are over 100 million people worldwide with various disabilities that can affect access to mobile devices. In addition to helping people with disabilities, Athena Eye Control can also support people whose hands are occupied or who would prefer to read hands-free.
Athena Accessible Technology believes that the current way people interact with mobile devices is “unnatural, unnecessary, and inaccessible”, especially when reading news articles, eBooks, and other text-heavy content. Switch and voice control have made devices more accessible but they require a newly learned behaviour and, in many cases, additional hardware, Athena Accessible Technology adds.
With the launch of the new app, the company hopes to provide a more immersive, accessible, and natural user interface.
Athena Eye Control is a free iPhone app that is now available to download on the App Store.
The goal of the App Store launch is to gather additional user feedback, continue improving the reading detection algorithms, and bring eye control to anyone with an iPhone.
Athena Accessible Technology says that reading detection and scrolling is “just the beginning” and is working on additional functionality that will enable more eye control inputs.
The assistive technology specialist is also working on a software development kit that would allow other companies to integrate eye control technology into their own apps.