Umoove iPhone App Game Uses Eyes And Facial Recognition To Play

The Umoove iPhone app is a new type of game that uses your eyes and facial recognition in order to play… no other buttons necessary!

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Umoove is a company out of Israel developing their technology for multiple implementations.

Founded in 2010, their facial recognition technology has progressed to the point where you can use your eyes and head to control scrolling, drawing, and the controls in apps. They came up with this idea when trying to figure out how to help people suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a nervous system disease that has famously afflicted Stephen Hawking. While the tech was initially developed for the disabled, it turns out pretty much everyone, including gamers, can benefit from their ideas.

Their mobile development kit was released to developers last years and now we’re starting to see the fruits of their labor. As a showcase for the concept they’ve released an Umoove iPhone game called the Flying Experience that allows you to move about the gaming world just by using small motions with your head. This game is fairly limited in scope, though, and is more like a tech demo since it’s completely free. The idea is that you move around a 3D village by collecting potions that allow you to fly.

But although the Umoove game doesn’t feature any traditional controls CEO Yitzi Kempinski says the idea is to augment the experience:

“We’re talking about adding another layer on top of touching, similar to what the mouse did with the keyboard — they didn’t throw out the keyboard, it actually added suddenly the ability to have another layer of interaction, so it’s the same sort of thing here. It’s supposed to be something that mimics real-world experience. I’ll give you an example… if you think of a first-person shooter, those games you play and you have to shoot, and then you have the joystick to move around and you have to drag the screen to move around the room. Basically what we do is simple: based on where you face that’s where you’re aiming.”

And it’s not like Umoove couldn’t be implemented with other technology. They’re already working with Microsoft to build the tech into Windows 8 and HDTV companies are interested, as well. But since the focus of the tech seems to be on eye tracking it’s possible other technology like Oculus Rift and Valve’s new virtual reality headset would be a great combination. Can you imagine not only being able to look around the world but also use your eyes to control and aim?