A Bristol-headquartered company that has developed technology to help disabled people who experience difficulty with speech has acquired a German-based company that specialises in AI-powered eye-tracking software.
The deal is Smartbox's third acquisition in six weeks and the company described the transaction as "game changing" for future product innovation.
Frankfurt-based GazeFirst team will form a dedicated eye-gaze division within the Smartbox research and development team, the company said, bolstering its capabilities with AI-powered assistive technologies.
The work of the new eye-gaze division will be dedicated to improving devices for augmentative and alternative communications users, enabling people who have difficulty speaking to communicate more easily.
The eyetuitive camera from GazeFirst is one of the first AI-powered eye-gaze cameras on the market and uses on-board machine learning to provide faster, more accurate eye tracking without data leaving a user’s device.
“This is a huge moment for the Smartbox family," said Dougal Hawes, chief executive of Smartbox Group.
"We’ve been using eye-gaze technology since 2006 and have seen the life-changing impact it can have – empowering people to access their AAC devices and communicate independently.
"Now, with an AI-powered solution that we’ll design and develop in-house, we’re taking the next step. We’re committed to driving innovation by using the latest eye gaze technologies to deliver the most intuitive, responsive, and empowering experience yet – directly supporting our mission to give everyone a voice."
The GazeFirst announcement follows Smartbox Group’s acquisition of Australian business Zyteq last week, and of Ƶ based ATTherapy last month.
Smartbox Group employs 700 globally, has Ƶ offices in Bristol and Malvern, and an international presence that also spans the US, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Mathias Anhalt, founder of GazeFirst added: “I'm excited about the opportunity to scale eyetuitive and make it accessible to a very wide user base, enabling us to reach far more customers than we could on our own.”
