Welcome Journalists! In order to save you some research time we will soon be posting a collection of product photos and graphics, and background information on our founders and management team. If you are interested in doing a story on ECT, please feel free to contact: Jim Richardson, President Mike Vial, Communications Director ECT and Natural Point logos are trademarks of Eye Control Technologies, Inc. and may not be used or reproduced without ECT’s expressed authorization.      332x208 180x113 300x246 108x89 1968x971 288x142 1501x579 288x111 837x1355 175x288 1210x1210 432x432 720x612 288x245 322x303 360x238 720x540 288x216 470x219 COMPANY HISTORY Eye Control Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1997 to develop eye control devices. Founders Jim Richardson and Birch Zimmer were initially inspired to develop eye tracking technology when Jim’s cousin was paralyzed and could communicate only by moving his eyes. Shortly after the company was formed, ECT developed and patented the iON-E, a headset-based device that tracks a user’s eyes, facilitating cursor movement by simply looking at any point on the screen. The system was created to give people with physical disabilities the ability to easily control their personal computers. When it was introduced, the iON-E system was in many ways technologically superior to existing eye control devices, and at $2,500 it was far less expensive. The ion(ht)™ was soon developed to track head movement, and evolved into a line of products which could track any part of the human body. Recognizing the wide appeal of a new control device which frees consumers from mice, keyboards, and remote controls, ECT has created the trackIR™, first device in the NaturalPoint™ product line. LATEST PRODUCT : the trackIR™ ECT has now developed and patented the first NaturalPoint™ product, the trackIR™. The trackIR™ uses a small black and white camera to track infra-red light reflected off a tiny piece of reflective material. The most popular implementations so far are: a quarter sized wand for presentations, a slip-on ring for laptop use, and a pea sized sticker on a user's glasses, hat brim, or forehead for general cursor control. The trackIR™ device receives these reflected IR rays and translates them into three dimensional coordinates which are sent via USB to our drivers and software on the user's computer. This software replaces the mouse input, though both devices can work in tandem if desired. The Software also monitors the input for preprogrammed gestures and movements which can activate special functions (such as nodding to press enter, or waving good bye to exit a program, etc.).    © 2000 Eye Control Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.