During her tenure at Georgia Tech, LaVonda Brown became interested in eye-tracking. EyeGage, one of the 20 firms competing at this year’s Disrupt Startup Battlefield, was founded on a fascination with all the information that can be obtained by scanning the so-called “windows to the soul.” EyeGage’s entrance into the TechCrunch competition coincides with the introduction of its first product: an app that determines whether or not a user is sober enough to drive. If they don’t, they’ll see a big red “Do Not Drive” warning with a link to contact an Uber or Lyft instead.
“Consumers can download the app, take images of their eyes, and we’ll tell them whether or not they should use ride-share,” says the company. Based on their gaze, they’re essentially not driving,” Brown argues. “It’s completely free. It’s what I like to refer to as a barter subscription service. They send us photos and films of their eyes, and we provide them with technology so that they can make an informed decision.” The app is currently the most forward-looking component of EyeGage’s business, and it, like the rest of the company’s work, will go toward expanding the company’s eye dataset.
The company will begin by assessing the effects of alcohol on several components of the eyes, including research that it is now doing with participants in a federally approved testing facility. Participants who sign consent forms will drink alcohol while the company gathers photographs and videos of their eyes as well as a blood sample. Given its current legal position in some states, marijuana is next on the list. Other medicines, such as opioids, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines, will be more difficult to collect data on, however hospitals and clinics that provide legal versions of these drugs could be a helpful source if the right consent is given.
Workplace settings, according to Brown, are also a reasonable next step. Law enforcement is also on the list, albeit there are a number of roadblocks to such collaborations. “We’re concentrating our efforts on high-risk industries such as construction, manufacturing, and transportation. “There is a high proportion of drug and alcohol usage in those industries in particular,” she tells TechCrunch. Beyond its immediate use for detecting drugs in the body, the company’s dataset may have other applications.
Brown adds, “Monitoring eye behavior can be useful for so many fields.” “Of course, you can tell who someone is by looking at them. It can be used to identify conditions such as concussions or diabetes, and it can be employed in a variety of markets. Your eyes are incredibly insightful into what’s going on inside your body. They can determine if you’ve consumed caffeine by the way your skin reacts to light. It’s a stimulant if it’s moving too quickly. It’s some kind of depressant if it’s too slow.”
