I have set a few of these up and I have used the PC eye go to try with others who have a personal surface pro or another computer.  I have not experienced all of these problems however when I do have one I immediately call tech-support. I know the reps don't support this product in the field with individual home visits, but tech-support does so if you're having any problems with set up call them right away.  It could be a defect in the product or something that needs to be returned.  And you only have a 30 day window if the reason why it needs to be returned is a refund because that they can't calibrate or use eye gaze. Also since the merger between Tobii and Dynavox our chapter has been noticing a trend of devices being shipped without the proper updates. Within the last few months there was an update to the eye tracking software itself.  When that update is not done it can cause the eye tracker to not work properly. I would have tech-support remotely connect if the person has Wi-Fi and have them take a look at everything.  They may have to delete software and reload it but they can do all that remotely and the device does not have to go in.  I recently contacted Tobii-DynaVox about the updates and they really appreciated the feedback because they did not know that some of the employees from the other company weren't doing them before shipping them out.  By calling and reporting problems right away it helps these companies know when something is going wrong within their own system.  I definitely think it should not have been that many problems when setting up the eye gaze so I hope for your client sake it's the software/hardware.  However I have had some clients in the past that just do better with the I series than the PC Eye Go, in those cases it was mostly related to vision/glasses etc.

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 13, 2015, at 10:48 AM, Alisa Brownlee <xxxxxx@alsa-national.org> wrote:

Hello fellow listservers,

 

I have a consultant working with a family on the PC Eye to Go with a tablet.  I have copied her report below.  Have any of you have experience with these issues?  Have any guidance for us?
I appreciate any feedback.  

 

 

I saw XXX yesterday with the new Tobii EyeMobile device. They purchased the package with the MS Surface tablet (vs the Dell, which the technology was developed with, but which costs @ $200 additional). Was there for over 2 hours trying to help them troubleshoot. There were intermittent successes paired with a high degree of frustration; many tears mostly XX’s.  XX definitely understands the basic operating mechanisms and strategies; that is not an issue.

 

Two levels of problem: eyegaze and associated software/firmware/possibly hardware issues; and MS 8 issues. Possibly a compatibility issue as well across technologies (?memory; ?processing speed/power; ??).

 

Eyegaze, etc issues: 

- despite optimal initial calibration, there was moderate difficulty selecting targets, not just for XXX but for all of us (hardest for her but we all struggled)

- attempts to recalibrate became impossible as calibration program kept freezing

- inconsistent interactivity between eyegaze and tablet features -- some tasks appeared compatible and some not

- eyegaze became nonoperational at one point after being briefly unplugged; worked again upon full reboot

- software/design limitation such as placement of eyegaze keyboard blocking half of Facebook screen without clear options for, eg, modifying browser proportions so keyboard doesn't block the screen

- no manual (printed, digital or online) other than initial eyegaze connection and very basic explanation of a few icons -- no guidance on navigating the web, formatting issues, etc (eg, see comment below about Facebook and typing issue) other than a brief, glib video of some Tobii guy using it flawlessly (also moving his head in the process)

 

MS 8 issue:

- speaks for itself -- who came up with this mess? SO difficult to navigate; multiple and nontransparent layers. Enormously frustrating.

 

I left them with a few, limited suggestions:

- keep trying to use the device using the handful of successful strategies we had today as a basis for navigation

- call and talk with someone at Tobii, describe problems (wrote them down yesterday for reference) and request that all components be replaced

- consider swapping the MS Surface tablet for the Dell tablet -- may be more compatible as it served as the basis for development per Tobii's website

 

Not much of an online community that I've found yet on these issues but I will keep looking.

 

I think the MS 8 training issues probably have to be more on the family than anything else, but there should ideally be a way to train the eyegaze device on a stable platform, which did not seem to be the case yesterday. The freezing calibration, which happened multiple times, seems to be a symptom of possibly serious problems at any number of levels.

 

 

 

 

Alisa

 

Alisa Brownlee, ATP

Manager, Assistive Technology Services

ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) Association, National Office and Greater Philadelphia Chapter

 

Office line: 215-631-1877

Business Cell: 610-812-0361

 

Twitter: alsassistivetec

Facebook: Alisa Brownlee ALS