Tobii announced that it is in talks with Sony to become a supplier of PSVR2 eye tracking technology

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Recently, Tobii announced that it is "currently in talks with Sony" and is expected to become a supplier of PSVR2 headset tracking technology.

Image source: tobii

While some VR headset companies such as Varjo and XTAL use their own eye tracking technology, many hardware manufacturers have chosen to use Tobii's technology, including HTC Vive Pro Eye, HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition, Pico Neo 2 Eye, and Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye, among others, using Tobii's eye tracking technology.

Sony first confirmed a year ago that a new Playstation VR headset was in development, and in May last year, reliable sources said that the headset would have eye tracking capabilities capable of center-point rendering. Sony officially revealed the specs of the PlayStation VR2 last month, including eye tracking and center point rendering.

A press release released today by Tobii shows that "negotiations are underway" between Tobii and Sony to become the eye tracking technology supplier for the PSVR2. But the press release notes that "this information is information that Tobii AB (publ) is obligated to disclose under EU market abuse regulations," suggesting that the announcement of this potential partnership is not for marketing or PR purposes, but for this regulatory requirement.

Sony hasn't revealed any release date for the PSVR2 yet, but it has announced the device's full specifications (including eye tracking), revealed the control handle, and even opened up registration so that players can be notified when pre-orders for the device begin. Given that every PlayStation console and the original PSVR headset was launched at the end of the year (with the exception of the PS2, which was released early in Japan), it's reasonable to think that the PSVR2 might launch this holiday season. So an important question is: Why are such partnerships still being negotiated late in the product development phase?

Sony and Tobii may still be working out specific terms for the deal, and it could be a huge deal for Tobii, but there is also the possibility that everyone's eyes are slightly different and the task of tracking the eyes with high precision and low latency is becoming increasingly difficult. No company has yet to have eye tracking technology that can reach 100% of the population and achieve the precision required for center-point rendering.

Sony has been working on eye tracking since at least 2014, and the technology has even appeared in its patent applications. Could the reason for Sony's cooperation 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 in large-scale user testing? Tobii has previously said that based on its 20 years of operation and based on the experience gained from delivering its technology in real headsets, it aims to achieve 95%-98% population coverage of its technology.

But overall, no matter who provides the technology, eye tracking technology should allow PlayStation VR2 to provide enhanced graphics with center-point rendering, more accurate throwing and aiming mechanics, new NPC interactions, and true eye contact in multiplayer games, all of which will propel VR forward.

Source: uploadVR