Tobii and Lenovo's eye-controlled laptop: A vision for the future

Motion controlled action is all well and good, but it's a bit tiring waving your arms about all day, isn't it? What we need is something that requires absolute minimal effort. Something like the eye-controlled laptop being shown off over at CeBIT by Swedish company Tobii Technology.

The prototype machine (one of 20) was built by Lenovo as simply tracks a users eyes to carry out the desired tasks. Using the "natural interface" you can use your peepers to scroll, select and point and is designed to work in tandem with your traditional inputs.

"More than anything else, the Tobii laptop prototype is proof that our eye tracking technology is mature enough to be used in standard computer interfaces," said Henrik Eskilsson, CEO of Tobii Technology.

"To reach a state where the technology is part of the average computer, we need to make it smaller and cheaper. We believe that this can be realized in a couple of years by partnering with the right manufacturer."

The system sounds great - not only would it be perfect for lazy so-and-sos like team Pocket-lint, it could help massively with personal computing for those with physical disabilities.

The world's first laptop with integrated eye control is on show over at CeBIT in Hannover now. The trade show runs until 5 March.