Google gambles on superhero tech with Eyefluence takeover

Hi-tech gadgets in superhero films are known for being far-fetched, but it might not be too long before we can use similar technology at home.

Tech giant Google has bought a California-based start-up which allows users to operate computers using just their eyes in a bet on the future of virtual reality. The price was not revealed,

Eyefluence, which has raised $21.6 million in two funding rounds in just three years, specialises in hands-free use of smartphones and virtual-reality headsets in a sign of Google’s confidence in the future of the technology.

The start-up has compared the technology with Marvel’s Iron Man when Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark holds virtual objects in his hands and controls holograms with his eyes.

A statement from Eyefluence said: “With our forces combined, we will continue to advance eye-interaction technology to expand human potential and empathy on an even larger scale.”