FAQ for Gaming & Streaming
The Eyeware Beam app requires the following to use head tracking and/or eye-tracking for gaming-related purposes.
- The Eyeware Beam iOS iPhone/iPad app and accompanying PC software.
- PC or laptop with Windows 10 (Mac support not yet available)
- 2GB of free space on your PC or laptop
- iPhone or iPad that has “Face ID” with iOS 13+
- One phone support (or something to keep the phone stable on)
- Free OpenTrack software to enable head-tracking in games
- Free OBS Studio software to enable streaming for eye-tracking
- OpenTrack Compatible PC game
We sometimes encounter users who can’t get Eyeware Beam to work because of basic Windows settings that prevent it from running properly.
- Firewall Issue: Add the Eyeware Beam computer software (Beam.exe) as an exclusion to your Windows 10 firewall. Do this by accessing the advanced settings of “Firewall & Network Protection”. Create a “New Rule” located in “Inbound Rules” to add the “Beam.exe”. The final step is to “allow the connection”.
- Network Privacy: Select the Wi-Fi network icon on the right side of your computer screen taskbar. Click “properties” for your current Wi-Fi network. Select “private” to be sure that your iOS device and PC can find each other.
- USB Connection: iTunes for PC is required to enable the USB connection with Eyeware Beam. Please see these additional USB connection troubleshooting steps if you are still unable to connect.
The following iPhones and iPads are compatible with the Eyeware Beam app.
iPhone
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
iPad
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch
Please refer to the official Apple instructions to set up and use Face ID with your iPhone and iPad model that supports this feature currently required in order to use Eyeware Beam.
Load one of 190 compatible games after installing the free OpenTrack PC software.
In the “Game Options” menu please follow this path: Settings > Camera customization > Head Tracking TrackIR > turn ON.
Additionally, you may need to change the game setting to run in “borderless fullscreen windowed” mode in some games.
Refer to our head tracker guide for more detailed instructions.
No, Eyeware Beam does not generate or store any biometric data. Our iOS app and counterpart computer software only turn your iPhone or iPad into a device that only tracks the “motion signals”.
According to the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) definition of biometric data, it relates to data that can be used to uniquely identify a person. Although Eyeware Beam generates head tracking and eye-tracking data, it is a big stretch to say that those signals can be used to uniquely identify a person. Moreover, Eyeware Beam does not store any tracking data.
Nevertheless, we deeply care about the privacy of our users and we take additional measures to protect you. Developers whose software programs interact with eye and/or head tracking data using Eyeware Beam must comply with our terms of use that require that they have to seek active consent and inform Eyeware Beam users how they are using the head and eye-tracking data provided to their software programs in real-time.
We offer bottom positions available for monitor setups, and side positions available for laptop setups. If you use a monitor and can’t place the phone beneath it, there is a solution.
Beam uses Opentrack to interface with your simulator game. Within Opentrack you have the option to define the default camera offset. Here is an in-depth explanation.
How to compensate for camera angle in Opentrack?
Placing the camera on that table on the right should work in terms of angle offset that we can still track. Tracking a distance of 1-1.2m (3-4ft) between the camera and your face is enough. There will be a loss in tracking accuracy and/or smoothness if the phone is placed too far away from the user.
Please check the following:
- The phone is in a stable position (it does not wiggle or slide)
- The room is well illuminated (your face is not in the dark)
- The internet connection is stable (i.e a slow internet connection will affect performance)
- There is no firewall blocking the connection of the application
Eyeware Beam may run more efficiently with newer generations of iPhone or iPad due to higher CPU. However, the GPU cannot create frames as fast as needed once the quality or resolution reaches a certain higher level. That is why we say that a higher CPU may improve the performance but this is not necessarily always the case.
Similarly, we aim to support and provide mostly the same user experience on all iPhone and iPad models that have a Face ID camera. Eyeware Beam doesn’t use Face ID itself, which is Apple’s face recognition technology. Instead, we built Eyeware Beam with our proprietary technology that requires a device with the camera model used by Face ID. That is why we can confidently say that any iPhone or iPad with Face ID will work similarly with Eyeware Beam.
Eyeware Beam is set to run in the background. You can locate the software in your Windows system tray located in the Windows Taskbar. This is usually at the bottom right corner of the screen. The purple Eyeware Bear logo will be found beside the other miniature software icons.
Eyeware Beam has no direct affiliation or control over OpenTrack. We are aware of this issue and feel confident that Microsoft Windows Defender and antivirus programs sometimes mislabel OpenTrack as a virus or trojan.
However, the consensus from various internet forums is that there is no issue with OpenTrack. It can happen if OpenTrack developers do not digitally sign files with a certificate or do not do an extended validation (EV) code signing.
OpenTrack is an open-source project that has been made available to gamers for years and has a large global user base. We always recommend downloading the software directly from official OpenTrack Github website.
When moving the outside camera with your computer mouse, the interior camera may not move. If this occurs, navigate to documents > ATS > config.cfg.
Change the TrackIR value from ‘1’ to ‘0’. ‘0’ corresponds to controller and ‘1’ to head tracking. You will need to change this setting each time you want to switch.
Please keep in mind that Eyeware Beam has no direct affiliation or control over OpenTrack.
FAQ for Developers
Een pc-toepassing met oog- en hoofdtracking is een app waarin de software kan reageren op hoofdbewegingen, oogbewegingen, of meer specifiek, waar de gebruiker naar kijkt.
Denk hierbij aan toepassingen waarbij de inhoud verandert naargelang de blik, een vtubing-avatar wordt bestuurd met je natuurlijke hoofd- en oogbewegingen, een venster kan worden geselecteerd met je ogen, een NPC (non-playing character) reageert wanneer je ernaar kijkt , of zelfs toepassingen die worden gebruikt om de gebruikerservaring te onderzoeken. De mogelijkheden zijn eindeloos.
The Eyeware Beam API is offered only as an annual subscription. A user may purchase the in-app subscription and immediately cancel afterward to lock in a one-off license valid for one year that will not renew automatically.
Bijna. We geven je de meeste ervaring gratis wanneer je de SDK downloadt. U mag inspecteren wat er in het pakket zit, bekijk de documentatieen bestudeer de codevoorbeelden die onze ontwikkelaars grondig hebben getest.
The only difference is access to the eye and head tracking data in real-time. That requires an active subscription.
We moedigen je ook aan om de Eyeware Beam-app in games en met streaming te verkennen om te zien wat deze kan doen en wat de prestaties zijn.
We raden u aan om een jaarabonnement in de app aan te schaffen als u tevreden bent met de mogelijkheden ervan.
Both you and each end-user are required to purchase the Eyeware Beam API through an in-app subscription. This includes the end-users who plan to access your head and eye-tracking-enabled PC application.
Ja. U mag de oog- en hoofdtracking-app(s) die u met de Eyeware Beam SDK-licentie heeft gebouwd, distribueren.
End-users must have the iOS Eyeware-straal app installed and running with an active subscription to use these functionalities that are integrated within your app.
Met Eyeware Beam bereikt u een breder publiek. Het is waarschijnlijker dat de eindgebruiker van uw app een TrueDepth-enabled iOS-apparaat heeft (bijv. iPhone 12) dan een enkelvoudig eyetracker-apparaat thuis.
Zowel de head- als eye-tracking draaien volledig op het iOS-apparaat. Dit betekent dat de eindgebruiker zich geen zorgen hoeft te maken over het verspillen van CPU/GPU-bronnen. Dit maakt hem onder andere ideaal voor gaming- of streamingervaringen.
Yes. Please let us know if you publish a study with it. We would love to promote it.
Please keep in mind that you may not collect data to reverse engineer or replicate Eyeware Beam (e.g. training an AI). That is a breach of license.
Ja. Ons supportteam staat voor u klaar, van maandag tot en met vrijdag, tussen 9.00 - 17.00 uur (Centraal Oost-Europese tijd). We bieden tijdige antwoorden, zodat u zich kunt concentreren op het bouwen van uw product.
Externe ontwikkelaars en onafhankelijke softwareleveranciers werken momenteel aan het bouwen van apps met de Eyeware Beam SDK. We zijn van plan om voltooide apps te delen met toestemming van de ontwikkelaars.
Als je een app hebt gebouwd met de Beam SDK en deze wilt promoten binnen de community, laat het ons dan weten in het #Beam-API-integratiekanaal op onze Discord-server.