Tobii, a global leader in eye tracking, recently announced that it is currently in talks with Sony and noted that "the financial implications of the transaction will not be commented on at this time" to incorporate its technology into the upcoming PlayStation VR 2, which is expected to become a supplier of PSVR 2 head-on eye tracking technology.
Founded in 2001, Tobii is well known in the industry for its eye tracking hardware and software stack. The Sweden-based company has been working with VR headset makers for years. While a handful of VR headset companies such as Varjo and XTAL use in-house eye tracking technology, so far almost all other companies have used Tobii's. HTC Vive Pro Eye, HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition, Pico Neo 2 Eye and Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye all use Tobii's eye tracking technology.
In May 2021, Sony first revealed the eye-tracking feature in the PSVR 2, mentioning that it will provide center-point rendering for the next generation of VR headsets. Sony officially unveiled specifications for the PSVR 2 last month, including eye tracking and center point rendering. The release date of the PSVR 2 is unclear, though it could be the first truly commercial VR headset with eye-tracking capabilities, provided the PSVR 2 isn't beaten by project Cambria, a rumored "Quest Pro" headset from Meta.
A press release released by Tobii today shows that negotiations are underway between Tobii and Sony to become an eye tracking supplier for the PSVR 2. But the press release said "this information is information that Tobii AB (publ) is obligated to disclose under eu market abuse regulations," suggesting that the announcement of the potential partnership was not for marketing or public relations purposes, but for this regulatory requirement.
Sony and Tobii may still be working out the exact terms of the deal, which is likely to be Tobii's biggest deal ever. But there is another possibility that everyone's eyes are slightly different, and as companies deal with outliers, the task of tracking eyes with extreme precision and low latency becomes increasingly difficult. No company has claimed that eye tracking is sufficient to reach 100% of the population and has the precision required for center point rendering.
Sony has been working on eye tracking since 2014, and the technology has even appeared in its patent applications. Could the reason for Sony's partnership with Tobii be that it originally intended to use in-house technology, but found that its technology could not reach a wide variety of people after large-scale user testing? Tobii has previously said that even after 20 years of operation and experience delivering its technology in real headsets, it aims for 95%-98% population coverage.
Regardless of who provided the technology, eye-tracking technology should allow PSVR 2 to deliver enhanced graphics, including center point rendering, more precise throwing and aiming mechanics, new NPC interactions, and true eye contact in multiplayer games, all of which will propel VR forward.