Though games on big-screen TVs are one obvious use for MoveEye, Tarsier has higher ambitions as well. A 3D MoveEye interface could be used for military applications such as combat simulations and controlling bomb-defusing robots, Wala said. In medicine, it could allow doctors to virtually reach inside 3D MRI scans, he said.
At Demo, Tarsier will show MoveEye working with a wired version of the glasses and controlling a customized OS based on the Boxee freeware platform. But for its eventual product, the company may use a derivative of Android and allow selected Android apps and games to work with MoveEye, Wala said. Whatever platform it uses, Tarsier believes it can offer interface innovations that make computing easier than ever.
Wala, who studied mechanical engineering and computer science at North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota, founded Tarsier in 2010 with Axel Chevaillier, whose background is in aeronautical engineering. They brought their ideas to professor Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos of the University of Minnesota, who is helping with the project.
The company has a fairly detailed roadmap for commercializing MoveEye. It tentatively plans to put the 2D system on the market in November 2014 for about US$300. The 3D system would come out the following year.
Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com
