Support NeoGAF

[cormack12]

Source: https://www.tobii.com/group/news-me...nology-provider-for-the-sony-playstation-vr2/
Source: https://www.tobii.com/

Tobii AB, the global leader in eye tracking and pioneer of attention computing, announces it is currently in negotiation with Sony Interactive Entertainment (“SIE”) be the eye tracking technology provider in SIE’s new VR headset, PlayStation VR2 (PS VR2).

Tobii is not commenting on the financial impact of the deal at this time as negotiations are ongoing.

This information is information Tobii AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on February 7, 2022, at 7:30 a.m. CET.

 

[ZehDon]

I kind of figured PSVR2's hardware vendors would already have been decided at this point. Oh well, Tobii make some good kit. I used to work for an educational resource company, and we setup a lot of their devices for special needs schools. Outstanding stuff.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Hmmm, still wondering of where that $4.4B out of $7B already-spent money is at?

 

[playXray]

Seems very late in the day to still be deciding this. I wonder if this means the launch is a way off yet.

 

[01011001]

that seems very alarming for people hoping for a near launch...
this is either a VERY late decision Sony is making here or the timeline they have planned for launch is further away than most people hoped for.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

This makes no sense...is this a 2024 product? lol
Shouldn't this be settled a long time ago?

 

[lh032]

Hmmm, still wondering of where that $4.4B out of $7B already-spent money is at?

capcom.

Daily massage by Jimbo for the remaining payment.

 

[reksveks]

Hmmm, still wondering of where that $4.4B out of $7B already-spent money is at?

You know there was pie chart in the articles that split up the investment into categories?

 

[Bo_Hazem]

You know there was pie chart in the articles that split up the investment into categories?

 

[reksveks]

I assume this is about who is the middleware effectively in the ps sdk, I don't know if they have any middleware on pc vr that would be applicable

Unity

vr.tobii.com

 

[Ozriel]

Sony’s going to make serious bank when they make PSVR2 compatible with PC.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Sony’s going to make serious bank when they make PSVR2 compatible with PC.

If they want to be truly competitive and have great numbers, it has to be PC compatible. Let's hope.

 

[yurinka]

Hmmm, still wondering of where that $4.4B out of $7B already-spent money is at?

As I remember about 40% of the >7B spent of it was for gaming. Then was the other for stuff like Crunchyroll, an Indian tv channel and things like that.

 

[Klik]

That's strange unless 2022 release is off the table.

 

[RoadHazard]

They don't have the tech for this in place already? That makes a 2022 release sound unlikely.

 

[cormack12]

 

[Ozriel]

They don't have the tech for this in place already? That makes a 2022 release sound unlikely.

Nah. It’s 2022. Everything points to that.
They don’t need to have eye tracking in from day one, it’s sufficient for the hardware capability to be there.
It’s like how we know we’re getting AI upscaling on next gen consoles eventually…but it wasn’t needed from day one.

 

[RoadHazard]

Nah. It’s 2022. Everything points to that.
They don’t need to have eye tracking in from day one, it’s sufficient for the hardware capability to be there.
It’s like how we know we’re getting AI upscaling on next gen consoles eventually…but it wasn’t needed from day one.

Oh, so it's gonna be like VRR on PS5...

I think this is a rather crucial feature to have there on day 1.

 

[Elog]

I think you need to break down eye tracking into two components: The actual light sensors (hardware) that must have been set some time ago in the PSVR2 and the data stream that those sensors create and how that is analysed (software).

I am willing to bet that the key component of this partnership is the software aspect that is very challenging to produce the right precision and accuracy.

 

[Sleepwalker]

If they want to be truly competitive and have great numbers, it has to be PC compatible. Let's hope.

day 1 if it is man, fingers crossed.

 

[Punished Miku]

Sony’s going to make serious bank when they make PSVR2 compatible with PC.

I assumed they're going to have to sell this thing at a loss to be competitive.

 

[SlimySnake]

This makes no sense...is this a 2024 product? lol
Shouldn't this be settled a long time ago?

yep. how can they have announced a product that is still in the design stage?

 

[Portugeezer]

I assumed they're going to have to sell this thing at a loss to be competitive.

On console it makes sense because people are locked into the PS store, but in PC that is not the case so selling at a loss would be just that - a loss.

That said, they'd probably port PSVR 2 games to PC if that's the case.

 

[Punished Miku]

I honestly don't understand this tech. Has anyone here actually ever tried this?

I have a Quest 2 and I don't move my eyes much. I can see the whole screen. Do I really want something to track my eyes and make everything else blurry? Is it fast enough to even do that? I really don't move my eyes much, I move my head.

 

[Portugeezer]

yep. how can they have announced a product that is still in the design stage?

The eye tracking is mostly software I would assume. The headset has the hardware for it to be done, that's what matters.

 

[SlimySnake]

Do I really want something to track my eyes and make everything else blurry? Is it fast enough to even do that?

I guess not. Otherwise they wouldnt be going to a third party.

Think of this as bink video compression. Everyone uses it because their inhouse compression solutions werent as fast.

As for how this will work. Who knows. It's new tech. I am guessing they have focus tested this stuff with real live players because the whole idea is to make sure the player cant see the blurriness on the side of the screen. It's like VRS. The illusion breaks the moment you start see blocky artifacts.

 

[Punished Miku]

I guess not. Otherwise they wouldnt be going to a third party.

Think of this as bink video compression. Everyone uses it because their inhouse compression solutions werent as fast.

As for how this will work. Who knows. It's new tech. I am guessing they have focus tested this stuff with real live players because the whole idea is to make sure the player cant see the blurriness on the side of the screen. It's like VRS. The illusion breaks the moment you start see blocky artifacts.

I'm skeptical. I can see the edges of my screen on Quest. It's not like it wraps around my head. To be that fast, I can't imagine it would be saving them that much computational power. The higher rez assets would have to be loaded and instantly available as fast as you blink your eyes.

Oh well, guess I'll just wait and learn.

 

[nowhat]

Think of this as bink video compression. Everyone uses it because their inhouse compression solutions werent as fast.

Getting off-topic, but what the hell - I know Bink is still being used (especially with Epic buying RAD Game Tools and integrating it with UE), but is there still a technical reason for it, when compared to H265/AV1/whatnot?

 

[SF Kosmo]

I kind of figured PSVR2's hardware vendors would already have been decided at this point. Oh well, Tobii make some good kit. I used to work for an educational resource company, and we setup a lot of their devices for special needs schools. Outstanding stuff.

Yeah, this probably means the PSVR2 is further out than most of us hoped

 

[ToTTenTranz]

There are credible reports claiming PSVR2 will start production in February/March, so it's not like they can afford to experiment different components at this point.
Hardware for the PSVR2 has most probably been set in stone for a while, even if not all supply agreements are 100% finalized yet.

This announcement probably came now because Tobii execs wanted to promote their contract with Sony for their fiscal year report.

 

[Wonko_C]

Seems very late in the day to still be deciding this. I wonder if this means the launch is a way off yet.

Holiday 2022 according to a report from Bloomberg that has been circularing since the 2nd half of last year.

 

[Knightime_X]

I wonder if eye tracking will be allowed in FPS games going forward.
Might as well allow auto aim if it ever happens.

 

[hlm666]

I wonder if eye tracking will be allowed in FPS games going forward.
Might as well allow auto aim if it ever happens.

Sony have mentioned eye tracked interaction, im not sure how extreme they would go like looking at someone with a gun means you hit. But I would expect that horizon game to use eye tracked aiming and your hit and miss is determined by the strength of the draw on the bow.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

I honestly don't understand this tech. Has anyone here actually ever tried this?

I have a Quest 2 and I don't move my eyes much. I can see the whole screen. Do I really want something to track my eyes and make everything else blurry? Is it fast enough to even do that? I really don't move my eyes much, I move my head.

Even if you don't move your eyes that just means the outer edges of your "default" viewing would be lower resolution at all times. It isn't like you can perfectly visualize and see the entire VR image even if you look straight and never move your eyes. Eye tracking just makes it so that if you DO move your eyes that the resolution will be adjusted appropriately.

If you truly don't move your eyes, ever, they could right now just lower the resolution of the outer edges and attain the same performance benefit with no needed additional hardware... but as soon as you do move your eyes it would look like shit, and I suspect you probably do move your eyes more than you think.

Edit: I actually have no idea how this could be done fast enough though, you are definitely right about that. Eye movement is probably insanely fast if you were to translate to mph or some angular speed.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

capcom.

Daily massage by Jimbo for the remaining payment.

When he speaks, the cheque clears!

 

[DenchDeckard]

I thought this would all be locked in by now?

Hopefully launchnisnt too far off and everything is working well day one.

 

[Three]

I think they might have already been using tech very similar to Tobii's since 2014



Does anybody know anything about the EU Market Abuse Regulation? It might be that this is the latest they can announce a partnership before a product releases.

This information is information Tobii AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

 

[rofif]

Yeah, this probably means the PSVR2 is further out than most of us hoped

seriously. If they are deciding on tobii now.. psvr2 is like 2-3 years away

 

[K2D]

So much drama and FUD.. Better chance for me to get my hands on a piece of hardware I guess.

 

[fart town usa]

Cool, gives me more time to save money.

I'll probably own a PSVR2 before I own an actual PS5, lol. I've recently entered the world of PSVR and while I still prefer gaming on a TV, VR has me excited for the possibilities of what it can provide on a PS5. First time I've been excited for nex-gen gaming in quite a while.

 

[ABnormal]

Even if you don't move your eyes that just means the outer edges of your "default" viewing would be lower resolution at all times. It isn't like you can perfectly visualize and see the entire VR image even if you look straight and never move your eyes. Eye tracking just makes it so that if you DO move your eyes that the resolution will be adjusted appropriately.

If you truly don't move your eyes, ever, they could right now just lower the resolution of the outer edges and attain the same performance benefit with no needed additional hardware... but as soon as you do move your eyes it would look like shit, and I suspect you probably do move your eyes more than you think.

Edit: I actually have no idea how this could be done fast enough though, you are definitely right about that. Eye movement is probably insanely fast if you were to translate to mph or some angular speed.

Saccadic eye movement is fast, but it doesn't matter: what matters is the needed time to regain focus, and that takes tens of milliseconds after each saccade. If you want to have a good idea of the foveated perception and saccadic focus time, just simply pay attention while you are reading the text of this forum on pc screen (not on smartphone): you will notice that when you are looking at a word, even the nearest word is out of focus and you cannot focus on it unless you do move your line of sight on it. It is possible to widen the focus putting the attention on an area rather than a point, but the result is overall less sharp. Also, you can notice that after each saccade, the time to focus is quite long, much longer even than the 16 milliseconds needed for a 60 fps frame (and VR will work with a minimum of 90 fps). Looking randomly around different lines into the text makes it easily perceptible.

 

[PlaystationFan5349]

I kind of figured PSVR2's hardware vendors would already have been decided at this point. Oh well, Tobii make some good kit. I used to work for an educational resource company, and we setup a lot of their devices for special needs schools. Outstanding stuff.

That was what I was gonna say. This makes no sense, they already announced the hardware didn’t they? And they said it was going to come out this year didn’t they?

 

[Moses85]

 

[mckmas8808]

I honestly don't understand this tech. Has anyone here actually ever tried this?

I have a Quest 2 and I don't move my eyes much. I can see the whole screen. Do I really want something to track my eyes and make everything else blurry? Is it fast enough to even do that? I really don't move my eyes much, I move my head.

I only laugh because your question seem so innocent.

 

[mckmas8808]

There are credible reports claiming PSVR2 will start production in February/March, so it's not like they can afford to experiment different components at this point.
Hardware for the PSVR2 has most probably been set in stone for a while, even if not all supply agreements are 100% finalized yet.

This announcement probably came now because Tobii execs wanted to promote their contract with Sony for their fiscal year report.

The bolded HAS TO BE the reason.

 

[Punished Miku]

I only laugh because your question seem so innocent.

haha, well I don't mind admitting when I don' t know things. When you think about it, the whole thing sounds kind of crazy. I'm open to the possibility that it all works, but I'm still skeptical there's zero downside. And I don't understand how you're supposed to swap resolutions that fast without having the system compute the max assets that whole time. I just don' t get it.

 

[Rudius]

haha, well I don't mind admitting when I don' t know things. When you think about it, the whole thing sounds kind of crazy. I'm open to the possibility that it all works, but I'm still skeptical there's zero downside. And I don't understand how you're supposed to swap resolutions that fast without having the system compute the max assets that whole time. I just don' t get it.

How well it can work remains to be seen (literally), but even in the worst case they could at least do something similar to current static foveated rendering, with a large area in high resolution, but changing its position if you look around.

 

[The Alien]

Hoping that this just means they've been tooling around with the tech for a bit and finalized the specs, etc.....and NOW just finalized an actual deal (Financials, etc) with the gear now ready to go.

Otherwise 2024 isn't likely. Other than that, pretty confident PSVR2 is gonna kick ass.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

Somebody is trying to downplay their financialssssss.

I wonder if Epic is going to buy this company now.

 

[HarryKS]

Awakening that Sharingan.