Today at the 2019 Game Developers Conference, Tobii announced a new software development kit (SDK) for XR applications and new resources for PC developers. The new developer guides and tools ease eye tracking integration in a variety of important ways, from providing new libraries and APIs for intuitive object mapping and selection, to delivering example code and implementation tutorials.

“GDC is all about developers, so this year we wanted to provide the developer community with the most advanced and easy to implement set of APIs, guides, code samples, and tutorials that have ever existed for eye tracking integration,” said Henrik Eskilsson, CEO Tobii. “With the launch of these new SDKs, development tools and resources, it is now easier than ever before for developers to take advantage of eye tracking technology to create extraordinary experiences for users.”

Introducing the Tobii XR SDK

The highlight of today’s announcement is the Tobii XR SDK. This collection of tools and resources enables developers to rapidly design and implement immersive interactions into their applications for head-mounted displays (HMD) that integrate eye tracking, including sophisticated features such as:

Focused Objects

Tobii Intelligent Objects enables you to use gaze to activate and select objects in an intuitive and smooth way. Create a seamless experience for users and simplify your job as a developer using machine learning and algorithms to map eye tracking signals to objects in a scene.

Superhuman Abilities

Take the virtual world a step beyond reality when you enable new forms of interactions that are only possible with eye tracking. Give users the feeling of superpowers by enabling virtual objects and environments to respond to their gaze.

Intuitive Interfaces

Improve user interfaces and further immerse users in the virtual experience with intuitive gaze-based interactions. Make navigation smoother, streamline menu selection, and hide unnecessary UI elements when the user is looking elsewhere.

Lifelike Characters

Give a new dimension to multiplayer environments and social interactions in VR. Avatars become more lifelike and expressive when they replicate their own and other users’ eye movements. Non-player characters become more responsive and fun to interact with when they respond to a player’s glace – no more zombie eyes.

The Tobii XR SDK and associated libraries are designed to be used with and complement the capabilities of device-specific SDKs associated with VR headsets that support eye tracking and the forthcoming OpenXR initiative. Building on decades of experience in eye tracking applications, the Tobii XR SDK delivers application tools and assets that provide immediate benefits to any developer working with eye tracking data streams from an XR HMD.

“Eye tracking is quickly becoming a required standard in XR devices. Tobii is the leading supplier of eye tracking technology and the most experienced company in the eye tracking ecosystem,” said Henrik Eskilsson. “We are bringing all of that knowledge to these new development tools and giving application developers a powerful advantage for creating extraordinary eye tracking interactions.”

New Resources for Developers

In addition to new libraries and APIs for XR interactions, Tobii is making code samples, videos, tutorials and debugging tools available for XR development, along with packages and assets for Unity with Unreal support coming soon. Tobii has also updated its developer portal for PCs and made its SDK for PC development available on Unity Asset Store and on the Unreal Marketplace.

To learn more about the complete range of Tobii’s tools and resources for developers, please visit https://vr.tobii.com/developer/.