Samsung’s (005930) next-generation Galaxy S IV is set to debut later this week, and it is expected to pack several exciting new features when it does. Among them will be a new eye-tracking feature that can automatically scroll content on the display as the user’s eyes near the bottom of the screen, and a feature that will pause media playback when the user’s head turns away from the phone. This will be the first time such functionality appears on a popular smartphone out of the box, but an Israel-based startup is already working to bring eye-tracking technology to popular smartphones like the iPhone and Android handsets.
The New York Times on Tuesday issued a report covering uMoove, a small Israeli startup formed in 2010 that aims to bring eye-tracking and head-tracking features to a wide range of smartphones and tablets. The company’s solution utilizes a device’s front-facing camera to monitor the user’s eyes and head, and then perform various functions based on movement.
“We made a very important decision that the technology is so diverse that we cannot just allow it to be confined,” uMoove cofounder Moti Krispil told the Times. The company plans to release an SDK for developers in the next few months.
Krispil confirmed that his company has been “collaborating with large device manufacturers” but he would not confirm whether or not uMoove’s technology will power the eye-tracking features set to debut on the Galaxy S IV.
