Since Crash Bandicoot burst onto the scene with 3D gameplay in 1996, the industry has grown into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. As interactive gaming continues to grow exponentially year-on-year, professionals and amateurs alike are hungry for any gadget that can give them the competitive edge and enhance their immersive experience.
While Forbes cites the metaverse, cloud gaming and virtual reality among the trends of 2022, what EarSwitch® is innovating is not a trend. It’s ground-breaking. The first of its kind. An in-ear biometric switch and sensor technology, opening unimagined heights for interactive gaming.
In-ear innovation: a new level of control
EarSight® is an in-ear sensor and switch which is intuitively and silently controlled by a tiny muscle in the eardrum. The device is activated by the movement of the tensor tympani, one of the smallest muscles in the body.
The patented sensor technology takes the control of electronic devices to a new level. EarSight® removes the need to manually interact with hardware such as the phone, the computer mouse, or the game controller. An extra pair of hands – in your ears.
Switching the balance of power through intuitive action
Gamers have long been empowered by their controllers. But in our increasingly hands-free era of tech efficiency, controllers are beginning to limit potential.
When using interactive streaming platforms like Twitch, users need to both play and interact with their communities at the same time. EarSwitch’s® hands-free technology enables players to tailor their own controls, delivering a triple-A multifaceted experience.
Adam Jessop is chief executive of the leading UK esports organisation Endpoint and has joined EarSwitch® as our gaming advisor.
‘The more accessible input you have, the better,’ says Adam. ‘Having an extra input – if it’s intuitive to use and non-intrusive – is a great concept.’
Macros, more efficiently
Macros are designed to save the gamer time, enabling them to execute a predefined action with a single or short combination of keys. This time-saving device means a gamer can pivot within the game more easily without the need for a more clunky combination of keyboard strikes and mouse clicks.
However, while initiating keyboard and mouse macros, the gamer is still momentarily unable to perform other actions within the game. EarSight® can take over these macros, freeing up the player’s hands and focus for other tasks.
Gaming advisor Adam Jessop explains, ‘With Twitch you need dual focus. While you want to be playing the game, you also want to be interacting with your community. Sometimes that dual focus can be hard to achieve efficiently. EarSight® enables an intuitive action that gamers could potentially create a macro around. I think this could be very popular.’
A competitive edge for esports
The esports market has been valued at over a billion dollars in the US alone. Esports players have a team of professionals assisting them in achieving their best game including sports psychologists, coaches, and wellbeing-focused staff. CEO of leading esports organisation Endpoint, Adam Jessop, says that EarSwitch’s® in-ear biometric and sensor technology has the capacity to be a great tool for the industry.
‘Typically, biometrics would be measured by a wrist device, but professional players don’t like wearing something on their wrist if they don’t have to. Anything that would be seen to dampen their competitive edge is a big no-no. So, having a device in their ear that is unobtrusive to get the right information we'd like to measure – to monitor wellbeing and analyse performance – is a great tool for us.
‘Being able to understand what heightens players’ stress, where they feel pressure and therefore where we can help them improve their game is important. The in-ear biometric measurements could be really significant in achieving that.’
This, along with taking over the initiation of macros and other awkward key combinations, EarSight® looks set to help esports gamers from an efficiency perspective, offering new ways for players to interact with the game.
Adam says, ‘If it’s a device that’s intuitive to use and becomes second nature like clicking a button on a mouse, then that’s a brand-new weapon in a player’s armoury; another way to interact with the game that doesn’t require too much thought or physical effort.’
Bespoke player-centred opportunities
Gamers invented the term ‘modding’; the modification of hardware, software, or anything else to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, achieving a bespoke specification for the individual player.
Adam Jessop suggested EarSight® will be no different in seeing its untapped potential realised in the consumer’s hands. ‘I’m curious to see how people will use it,’ he says. ‘When new gamer products come out, the community does its own research and comes up with hacks the designer hadn’t thought of. I think players will open up EarSight’s® uses too. Instead of it being a single click for example, there might be certain combinations of clicks that can even further enhance their experience and improve their performance.’
EarSight®: An extra input to revolutionise the gaming experience
From professional gamers to esports players to your everyday gamer, EarSwitch’s® intuitive in-ear control and biometric technology holds vast potential for the world of gaming. An innovative and unique piece of technology, EarSight® has the power to enhance the way gamers control, play, respond and interact.
Contact us if you would like to learn more about our patented IP technology.