Eye gaze technology is opening up exciting new ways for individuals with physical disabilities to interact with their environment. One of the most fun and engaging ways to use eye tracking, is to control battery-operated toys.

We visited Pendle View School, where we met Harry – a student with Cerebral Palsy with a great sense of humour. Harry has been using eye trackers for a while and couldn’t wait to try out eyetuitive for iPadOS. On Harry’s first try, he couldn’t get enough when controlling a bubble machine to fill the room with bubbles.  

In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to set up eye gaze control for a bubble machine using eyetuitive on both iPad and Windows.

For those looking to go down the iPad route for eye gaze, eyetuitive for iPadOS is an advanced AI-powered, Apple MFi-certified eye-tracking solution that offers precision tracking, even for users with glasses.

It utilises Apple iPad “Snap to Item” and “Auto-Hide” functionality to experience more precise controls on iPad applications, grid software, and when navigating pages.

It’s easy to set up and is future-proofed with ongoing software updates.

The simplest way to control a battery-operated toy is with the iControl.

The iControl is a wireless switch interface that allows switch adapted toys to be operated using an iPad.

• An iPad 
• A compatible eye tracker, such as eyetuitive for iPadOS 
• iControl a wireless switch interface, plus the included free iClick App 
• Switch adapted (e.g. Blue Whale or Frankie the Fish) 

1. Plug the bubble machine into the iControl 
2. Pair the iControl to the iPad through the free iClick App.  
3. Take a picture of the bubble machine on your iPad.
4. Import the picture into the iClick App. 
5. And look at the screen to activate the bubble machine.

Watch our video tutorial with Ian, our Information Manager, to see how it's done:

For a Windows setup, eyetuitive for Windows offers an advanced AI-powered tracker, which is the smallest of its kind.

It provides advanced tracking accuracy and works seamlessly with assistive and mouse-driven software.

It uses eye and face detection with neural networks and is the only eye tracker with a dedicated accelerator chip/processor for neural networks.

The simplest way to connect eyetuitive for Windows eye tracker to a battery-operated toy, is with the Toy Control Box. This allows users to control battery-operated toys via a computer.

By connecting to the PC via USB, it enables interaction through eye gaze or switch access, offering more ways for users to engage with their environment.

• Windows PC 
• A compatible eye tracker, such as eyetuitive for Windows 
• Toy Control Box
• Switch adapted (e.g. Blue Whale or Frankie the Fish) 

1. Plug the Toy Control Box into your Windows PC. 
2. Plug the Toy Control Box into the bubble machine.  
3. Take a picture of the bubble machine. 
4. Import it into the included Toy Control Box software.  
5. And look at the screen to activate the bubble machine. 

Watch our Windows setup video with Ian here:

If you'd like to go beyond battery-operated toys and control electrical appliances such as lamps or fans via eye gaze, we have a range of environmental control devices to suit your needs.

For an iPad setup, the iClick is the best option. It allows individuals to turn electrical appliances on and off using eye gaze, switches, or an app, making it perfect for greater independence in the home or classroom.

For Windows based eye gaze systems like eyetuitive for Windows, the best option would be the Control USB, which allows you to control up to 16 main-powered devices.

As seen in our video with Harry, using eye gaze to control toys like a bubble machine can be a fun and rewarding experience. Whether using an iPad with iControl or a Windows PC with a Toy Control Box, eyetuitive makes it possible for individuals with physical disabilities to play, learn, and explore.