September 10, 2012 
Blink and you’ll miss it: Eye-control TV lets couch potatoes change the channel without lifting a finger…
Couch potatoes just found another excuse not to get off the sofa – a TV which can monitor your eyes and change the channel if you give it the nod.
The Eye Control TV, by Chinese manufacturer Haier, comes with an admittedly bulky device that you place in front of your TV, and with a determined blink of your eyes you can change channels, change the volume, or power your television off.
The eye-sensing technology relies on a Kinect-style sensor sat on your table, and Haier says your standard blinks will not interrupt your scheduled viewing.
The sensor sits in front of you and needs calibration the first time you run it, which involves chasing a circle around the screen with your eyes.
After that, long blinks activate the sensor, bringing up an on-screen display. Looking downwards brings up the volume controls, which you can then adjust by looking at the plus and minus signs.
Meanwhile, other menus allow you to switch channels and glide between still images.
Engadget tested the equipment at the IFA technology conference in Berlin this week and called it a ‘compelling concept’, although not quite ready for market, partly for the slight learning curve and the coffee-table-dominating sensor.
New ways of controlling the TV are beginning to overtake the old infra-red remotes that currently dominate the coffee table.
Many TVs are not ‘Smart-enabled’, meaning they have in-built Freeview and Apps which can allow streaming from services such as Sky TV.
A range of accessories also allow you to control your television from a smartphone.
For those of a more active disposition, a Doctor Who-themed ‘Sonic Screwdriver’ TV remote is released this weekend, allowing you to gesticulate wildly at the television in the style of your favourite Doctor.
VIDEO: Control the TV with your eyes
Taken from: www.dailymail.co.uk