Inseye has “paused” Lumi, the Quest 2 & 3 eye tracking addon it planned to sell, to focus on bringing the technology to smart glasses instead.
Unlike camera-based eye tracking systems of the kind you’d see in headsets like Apple Vision Pro or PlayStation VR2, the $160 Lumi promised to use an array of simple and inexpensive photosensors to measure the intensity of the reflection of infrared light off your eye. Each part of your eye reflects infrared light with a slightly different intensity, and Inseye says its neural network uses the intensities reported by the photosensors to determine the exact position of your pupil at 1000Hz, while using five times less battery than cameras.
The startup announced the device back in June, and took $1 “refundable deposits” to get it for a discounted price of $100 whenever it eventually shipped.
But now, Inseye says it has “paused Inseye Lumi project for the time being”. The startup says it’s doing so because it’s shifting its focus to integrating its technology into smart glasses and AR glasses, rather than VR/MR headsets, and as a “startup with limited resources” it can’t do both – at least not at the same time.
The startup says it’s now “working closely with clients who are preparing to bring next-generation smart eyewear to the market”.
“Please know this doesn’t mean we’re giving up on VR. We remain convinced VR has massive potential, and we plan to revisit our VR projects when the time and resources are right,” Inseye told backers.
Inseye claims it will refund the $1 deposit of any backer who reaches out via email.
Meanwhile, in January a Japanese engineer said he’s making his own face & eye tracking addon for Quest 3, but significant concerns were raised about the project.
David Heaney
