Alienware sneaked a notebook, the Alienware 17, with gaze recognition into the market while we were tied up with IFA and joins Acer in using the technology. Features that are enabled by the Tobii-based gaze system include:
- Wake on Gaze – In order to wake the notebook up from sleep mode, the user looks directly at the Alienware logo and the device will power up. This ensures the notebook acts on the specific user intent of activating the device and avoids accidental power ups.
- Keyboard Lights – Now equipped with the ability to understand the user’s current focus and attention, the Alienware 17 is able to optimize the power exchange between both the keyboard’s lighting zones and the screen. When the user is looking at the screen the keyboard backlights remain off since the user is not currently interested in this area. Key illumination also only occurs in the region the user is currently looking, rather than the entire keyboard, further optimizing power management.
- Alienware Logo and AlienFX Chassis Lights – These visual brand elements are also gaze-reactive and optimized to save power.
- Stay Awake / Dim Screen – These presence features inform the device when the user is both present and engaged with the screen, prompting the screen to either stay awake or dim to conserve power when the user engages/disengages with the screen. These features are also found in the Alienware 15 and 13 models.
- Autolock – Another presence feature powered by Tobii, this enhanced security measure prompts the device to lock when the user steps away from the device. This reduces the vulnerability of unauthorized use by another user when the sleep timer is engaged but the device is not yet locked. This feature is also found in the Alienware 15 and 13 models.
- Windows Hello – As previously seen on other eye trackers, like the Tobii EyeX peripheral, Alienware 17 owners can also count on more secure and more convenient device log-ins with Windows Hello. Activated immediately after Wake on Gaze, this biometric login gets users into their device faster and more conveniently without the need to type in a traditional password. Tobii platforms are the only eye tracking platforms in the world validated to support facial recognition for Windows Hello.
Acknowledging the increasing demand for game analytics and the growing popularity of competitive gaming and e-sports, Alienware and Tobii have also teamed up with Overwolf to bring eye tracking data to their popular training tools. Th
The company has also worked with Overwolf to help competitive gamers with their training. Four apps track and record gamer’s eye movements to help them understand and improve performance with insights on how their attention and inputs intermingle:
- Replay HUD – Now equipped with an additional layer of gaze data, this playback tool helps analyze and improve situational awareness by showing where you looked during game replays.
- Game Capture – Also equipped with gaze replay data, this app allows gamers to remember and learn from their mistakes over the course of an entire match.
- Twitch Streaming – Now able to provide live gaze data in stream, Twitch Streamers now have another tool to instruct their audience and provide a richer entertainment experience.
- End Screen – An aggregate of gaze data displayed as a heatmap, this tool helps gamers understand where they spend the majority of their attention on screen, allowing them to recognize bad habits and adjust.
The Alienware 17 options include an Intel Core i7 CPU up to 6820 HK dynamically overclocked up to 4.1 GHz and a choice of GPUs from Nvidia and AMD and has from 8GB to 32GB of RAM. Storage goes up to 3 Terabytes. The display is a 17″ IPS panel with UltraHD resolution and 300 cd/m² of brightness.
