Google purchases eyeball tracking firm Eyefluence

“Eyeball tracking” might sound like the stuff of science fiction horrors, but it’s an essential focus for those in the virtual and augmented reality spaces. And who better to know this than Google?

The company has bought eyeball tracking firm Eyefluence, which should help it in its present and future VR and AR ambitions. Financial information was undisclosed, but according to Mattermark, Eyefluence raised around US$21.6-million in two funding rounds.

Eyefluence, founded in 2013 by Livescribe founder Jim Margraff, develops technology to “create a more natural, intuitive way to interact with augmented and virtual reality displays”.

“Over the last three and a half years we have built an incredible team, advanced our eye-interaction technology, and created strong partnerships that have lead to the development of a completely new language for eye-interaction,” the company adds on its blog.

With Eyefluence, Google buys a system that allows users to interact with VR & AR scapes using their eyes

Its technologies include a visual interface for AR and VR that can be operated by the eyes, relying on eye-brain wizardry, and biomechanics. For Google, this means a marked technology buff for the likes of its Google Daydream VR project.

As for future prospects, Eyefluence notes that the team is “excited” to join Google, and will aim to continue crafting “life-changing innovations”.

“With our forces combined, we will continue to advance eye-interaction technology to expand human potential and empathy on an even larger scale,” the company adds.