Tobii, one of the leaders in eye tracking technology has announced that it is negotiating with Sony to provide eye tracking for the PlayStation VR2 headset. The company released the following press release announcing its intentions.
“Tobii AB, the global leader in eye tracking and pioneer of attention computing, announces it is currently in negotiation with Sony Interactive Entertainment (“SIE”) be the eye tracking technology provider in SIE’s new VR headset, PlayStation VR2 (PS VR2).
Tobii is not commenting on the financial impact of the deal at this time as negotiations are ongoing.”
Tobii
That is the extent of the press release and all the information that has been released at this time. The company included a disclaimer stating that it was required to make the announcement due to “the EU Market Abuse Regulation.” Although Tobii works in a wide variety of areas, it does have its own products aimed at gamers. One of its most famous products is the Tobii Eye Tracker 5 which is designed for use in PC games. The tracker is a bar that sits under the player’s monitor and converts eye movement into in-game actions.
Eye tracking in VR is one of the next big steps forward. Some high-end headsets, such as the HTC Vive Pro Eye, already include the feature. Though the HTC Vive Pro Eye retails for $1,399 so it isn’t mass market quite yet. If PlayStation VR2 includes eye tracking it would suggest that Sony is aiming for the bleeding edge of VR technology with its product. However, as an extension to the PS5, there’s a limit to what most consumers will be willing to pay for the headset. If Sony aims to keep the price down, as it did with the original PlayStation VR, mass-market eye tracking could be on the way.