Eyebox2 Is The New Eye-tracking System

The billboards are watching you.

No, it's not a scene from Minority Report. OK, it is, but that's not what we're talking about here. A new eye-tracking system that has a range of 10 meters should be just the thing that advertisers are looking for. With its 1.3-megapixel digital camera and arsenal of infrared LEDs, Eyebox2—as it's known—can tell when you're looking and when you're not. The result could very well be a mechanical billboard that changes displays depending on just who's looking.


Such eye-tracking devices are already being used to track computer users, but that's much more close-up work. What we're talking about here is the distance commonly between a driver or passenger and a side-of-the-road billboard. Eyebox2 has been specifically formulated to track the distinctive signature of a human eye pupil and basically ignore the rest, so it's not responding to other movements in the least.

This kind of technology could also lend itself to retail, enabling stores to track which signs or displays get the most eye traffic. Theoretically, it could even be used by online advertising companies to determine which ads get the most optical response and when.

Well, you've been warned. You'll likely see one of these billboards or other kind of ads in the near future. Don't jump out of your shoes.



Written by Jeff Strickler
Published in Digital Imaging