Acer moves its Tobii eye-tracking technology to a more general market with its update on the Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition.
Announced in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show, the V 17 Nitro, according to Tobii Tech President Oscar Werner, “is the world’s first laptop with eye tracking focusing on general consumer computing.”
The laptop’s eye-tracking will be integrated with Microsoft’s Precision Touchpad (PTP) platform which creates a sort of “virtual touchscreen” that makes working a more natural experience rather than a procedural one.
The eye basically guides where the mouse pointer appears and operates within the screen. Acer gave some examples of the technology’s applicability.
A simple positioning of the finger on the touchpad while looking at a certain point in the screen will direct where the pointer will appear. This goes the same when zooming in or zooming out of a particular section of the screen.
Looking at a particular window and doing a scrolling command (two-finger swipe) will scroll through content in that window only.
Switching apps will also be simplified. Pressing the Alt + Tab command, which displays all the open programs, and a glance at the image of the desired program will open that window with the release of the Alt + Tab command.
Same as Acer’s Predator gaming laptops and monitors, the V 17 Nitro also supports Tobii-enhanced games such as The Division and Watch Dogs 2.
An updated list of specifications is yet to be released, but Acer projects the laptop to be available by February of this year.