The 'Mythbusters' Use an Eye Tracking Mouse

Busting myths is hard work. Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, and the rest of the MythBusters crew are celebrating ten years on the air by revisiting the very first myth they ever tried to bust -- the urban legend of the JATO Rocket Car, in which a solid fuel rocket strapped to a Chevy Impala briefly gave it flight before crashing spectacularly into a cliff face.

Replicating the event required quite a bit of the MythBusters' expertise in building a custom mockup of the car that would be safe to test. In addition to attaching plenty of rockets to the back of the car, adjusting its center of balance, and building a ramp for it to launch off of, a remote control system had to be constructed to guide the car during the test. After all, who wants to drive a rocket-powered car when the last one exploded?

The solution came in the form of an EyeTech VT2 eye tracker.

This incredible sensor was set up in Jamie's rolling bunker, "The Beast," and connected to the car's remote control system, providing a safe yet intuitive way to maintain situational awareness from the driver's seat of the doomed vehicle. By tracking Jamie's pupils, the EyeTech VT2 let him keep his eyes on the road with natural motions, all while staying well clear of the ensuing crash and somersault.

It might seem like something out of science fiction, but EyeTech has been providing eye tracking technology to the public since the mid-'90s. If you're like Jamie and want to keep an eye on your handiwork but don't want to take a hands on approach, the EyeTech EyeOn and EyeTech EyeOn Mini Hands Free Mouse offer a unique new way to interact with your computer using just your pupils. A mouse that tracks your eyes might seem like an urban legend, but this technology is most certainly real.