If you thought Oculus’s VR headsets , HTC’s Vive and Samsung’s VR headset would provide enough enough virtual reality excitement in 2015, then Fove’s ambition to add eye-tracking control into the mix could push you over the edge.
I actually like the idea, and had a very short play around with a prototype unit, but remain slightly unconvinced of the long-term viability.
In a nutshell, Fove is a VR headset much like others you’re familiar with – except that it has eye-tracking, whereas no others currently do.
The company says that this additional control adds to the overall immersion of the experience and is looking to raise $250,000 on Kickstarter to bring the headset to full production.
It has a 2,560 x 1,440 pixel display to allow you to explore 3D virtual worlds, with your eyes used as input controls. In the demo I tested, I shot rocks (I think) by looking at them. Despite being short, it seemed accurate and mostly recognized my gaze correctly.
In other uses, you can use the control to pick up items or interact with other characters through eye-contact.
Beyond gaming, Fove has already been used to help people with physical disabilities to play the piano, and it’s not hard to imagine how gaze-control could be useful in this or similar ways.
The first 200 units are being offered at $349, which then rises to $399 once those have sold out. Both batches are due for delivery in March 2016, all being well.
There are also dev-focused tiers available from $429, which include the SDK, documentation, sample software, engine plugins and access to the developer forums, plus the choice of a white or black unit after the campaign.
It’s the software side of things that’s particularly interesting here. The headset blurs the peripheral viewing areas a little to make it more like real vision, but this also has the knock-on effect of allowing more efficient rendering as a smaller total area needs to be rendered accurately.
It’s the software side of it that I also think could potentially be the company’s biggest problem – for the headset to have any shot at commercial viability, it needs content from developers. If that doesn’t happen, Fove will be another ambitious, but ultimately failed Kickstarter project. We won’t know that at the end of the campaign though.
Around six months before the first headset-only units are due to ship, the company will start its developer drive. Fove is compatible with content developed using Unity, Unreal and Cry Engine, which means only minimal porting should be required for developers to support the platform. On top of that, Fove has also done a deal with Wear VR ‘s virtual reality app store.
With developer support clearly considered already, the only other potential issue – unforeseen hardware problems aside – is if Fove did see consumer support for its eye-control tech. One of the bigger players could look to incorporate similar technology – or just straight-up buy the company.
A spokesperson for the company told TNW that if the campaign isn’t successful, the company will go back to the drawing board and look at other way to bring the headset to consumers. So, as always, it’s caveat emptor for crowdfunding campaigns.
➤ Fove [Kickstarter]
Read next: Oculus will release a consumer VR headset in early 2016
5 deals to make your drone-flying career take off
Are you ready to master the skies with your own stunt-flying, aerial-view shooting fun? These drones at TNW Deals are all under $100, meaning you can get airborne without breaking the bank .
As the name suggests, the SKEYE is a tiny palm-sized quadcopter, but its cute appearance belies impressive functionality. It has full six-axis stabilization, and nimble controls that can be adjusted with three levels of sensitivity. It can also pull pre-programmed flips, and it has a rotor guard to prevent mishaps. You can currently pick one up for $34.99 , with free shipping to the US and internationally .
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While the Code Black is also palm-sized, it drops the cute in favor of a sleek, Batmobile-like exterior, complete with glowing blue lights. It has the full complement of six-axis gyro stabilization, with two flight modes, and four pre-programmed flips. It also has a rotor guard, and charges via USB. The reduced pre-order price of $99 includes shipping to the Continental US, while international customers can get the same deal for $109 .
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Like its slightly smaller brother, the SKEYE Mini is palm-sized. However, this version comes with a few extras, the most notable of which is an in-built HD camera. The 720p footage is stored on the included 4GB memory card, and you can take photos, too.
The Mini also has LED lights for night-time flying, along with six-axis stabilization, and controls that offer the precision to let you pull barrel rolls. You can pre-order the SKEYE Mini now for $69.99 , with free shipping to the US and internationally .
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If you’re looking for something a bit more imposing, this UDI offers the same kind of features as the smaller drones above, but with the addition of a high-capacity battery pack. This allows it to soar for up to nine minutes on a full charge. It has six-axis stabilization, precise controls, flight modes, HD camera, and LED lights for capturing video and stills, while this deal gives you a pack of extra parts in case of newbie accidents/over-ambitious stunt piloting.
The UDI is $89.99 on pre-order , with free shipping to the Continental US.
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The all-white Snowflake might just be the best of these drones in terms of pure aerial ability. Although it is tiny, it has impressive stabilization and proportional controls that make for smooth flips and rolls. It also has a high-speed mode for outdoor racing, along with 2.4 technology to avoid collisions with other drones. It is made from durable ABS plastic, with rotor guards and parts that can easily be replaced.
You can order the Snowflake now for $39.99 with free shipping.
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Samsung’s new 256GB microSD card can hold 12 hours of 4K video
There’s a new high-capacity microSD card coming soon from Samsung, and while you probably don’t need it — we bet you’ll want it.
At 256GB, Samsung’s new EVO Plus card has enough memory for 12 hours of 4K video (The Lord of the Rings is only 11.5 hours !), 33 hours of full HD recording, 55,200 photos or 23,500 MP3s.
The tiny powerhouse sports Samsung’s newest V-NAND technology for dense memory, and has read/write speeds of 95MB/s and 90MB/s, respectively.
Samsung will be offering the EVO Plus starting in June to over 50 countries, and will offer a 10 year warranty. That doesn’t really matter, though, because at this rate you’ll upgrade before you even have a chance to file a warranty claim.
An if you’re curious how much this card you’ll be lusting after costs, it’s $250; almost one full dollar per gigabyte.
But damn is it hot.