Canadian start-up OcuBlink has developed a new synthetic eyeball to deliver consistent and reliable validation of augmented and virtual reality applications.

The new eyeballs have nearly identical optical properties to human eyes, including mimicking the complexity of how visible and infrared light reflects through the pupil and across the limbus, said OcuBlink co-founder Dr Chau-Minh Phan, who’s based at the Centre of Ocular Research and Education at Waterloo University. “The design, engineering and manufacturing process results in an optically clear, standardised and stable eyeball that enables testing consistency.”

Adhawk Microsystems is piloting the product to calibrate eye tracking in advanced AR/VR systems for medical and consumer electronics applications. “By using OcuBlink synthetic eye models, AdHawk is able to run reliable, consistent tests all day, every day,” said CEO Neil Sarkar. “We wouldn’t be able to do this work as effectively or precisely with more traditional eyeball substitutes.”