Quarterback Noah Johnson of the Alcorn State Braves looses his helmet after being hit by linebacker David Curry of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Sept. 1, 2018.Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images
Neurotechnology company SyncThink announced its eye-tracking analytics application will be available on the Magic Leap One augmented reality platform. SyncThink officially revealed its partnership with Magic Leap at CES 2019 in Las Vegas.
SyncThink’s technology was previously only suitable with Samsung VR headsets at a cost of $6,000 for a complete Eye-Sync package. In December, SyncThink CEO Laura Yecies told SportTechie that a potential partnership with Magic Leap would make SyncThink’s Eye-Sync platform drop to around $2,000. Unlike Samsung VR, Magic Leap has built-in eye-tracking cameras, reducing SyncThink’s cost of adapting the headsets.
“One of the primary advantages of working with Magic Leap’s mixed reality technology is it allows us to create specific interactive brain performance training paradigms in the user’s exact environment instead of trying to produce the same result in a virtual environment,” said Yecies in a press release from SyncThink. “This is especially important in sports, for example, where they can train and measure the recovery or improvement of a specific skill by doing the exact activity their sport requires.”
Magic Leap’s 3D-real world display will now be a part of SyncThink’s platform. SyncThink’s eye-tracking tests are used by many sports teams and physicians to help assess brain health in athletes and potentially help diagnose concussions. Magic Leap’s spatial computing platform will also be utilized to improve SyncThink’s full suite of assessments. These additions include adding high-precision methods to objectively assess balance, proprioception, depth perception, and convergence when monitoring for cognitive injuries.
SportTechie Takeaway
About two-thirds of SyncThink’s customers are sports teams—including the Golden State Warriors, the Atlanta Hawks, and several collegiate programs through partnerships with the Pac-12 Conference, the University of Texas, and Georgia Tech. Not only do the Warriors use SyncThink to help track concussions symptoms, but the team also uses the eye-tracking technology to monitor player fatigue. Now that SyncThink’s retail price is expected to drop dramatically due to its transition to Magic Leap’s mixed reality device, more high school and youth athletic programs could be able to afford SyncThink and get a better grasp on trying to properly diagnose concussions in young athletes.
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