Artificial intelligence software to turn smartphones into eye-tracking device Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis

Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a new artificial intelligence software that can turn any smartphone into an eye-tracking device. Eye-tracking technology - which can determine where in a visual scene people are directing their gaze - has been widely used in psychological experiments and marketing research, but the required pricey hardware has kept it from finding consumer applications. In addition to making existing applications of eye-tracking technology more accessible, the system developed by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Georgia may enable new computer interfaces or help detect signs of incipient neurological disease or mental illness. "Since few people have the external devices, there is no big incentive to develop applications for them," said Aditya Khosla, an MIT graduate student. "Since there are no applications, there's no incentive for people to buy the devices. We thought we should break this circle and try to make an eye tracker that works on a single mobile device, using just your front-facing camera," he said.