New 'Umoove Experience' iOS Game Demos Face and Eye Tracking Technology

Umoove, an Israeli startup developing mobile-based face and eye-tracking technology, today released a new game that demonstrates its current work on tracking using the iPhone's front-facing camera.

Umoove Experience: The 3D Face & Eye Tracking Flying Game is a simple app that allows users to fly through a village using gentle head movements that are detected by the camera. The goal is to collect potion bottles scattered throughout the landscape by turning and moving up and down with head movements. The game also incorporates touch gestures at the same time for an all-encompassing gaming experience, with the touches used to control flight speed.

umoovexperience

Enjoy the 3D flying experience and test your skills by collecting the purple magic potions, which will give you more energy to continue exploring the village.

The Umoove Experience is only the beginning! Think about the potential of this technology on other app and gaming experiences such as first person shooters, driving games, and other flying or running gaming experiences.

Umoove has been developing its head and eye-tracking technology since 2010, and the current game serves as a simple demo highlighting the ways the system could be used in other apps and games in the future. As in the game demo that combines head movements with touch, Umoove's goal is to supplement traditional touchscreen controls rather than replace them.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Umoove CEO Yitzi Kempinski notes that the addition of head-tracking to standard touch controls is meant to mimic real-world experiences.

"We're talking about adding another layer on top of touching, similar to what the mouse did with the keyboard — they didn’t throw out the keyboard, it actually added suddenly the ability to have another layer of interaction, so it's the same sort of thing here," says CEO Yitzi Kempinski.

"It's supposed to be something that mimics real-world experience. I'll give you an example… if you think of a first-person shooter, those games you play and you have to shoot, and then you have the joystick to move around and you have to drag the screen to move around the room. Basically what we do is simple: based on where you face that's where you're aiming."

Umoove is currently offering indie developers a free SDK to incorporate face-tracking into their own apps and games. According to Kempinski, Umoove is also talking with OEMs about adding the technology into future devices.

Motion tracking using the iPhone's camera has been explored in the past, with two French researchers detailing a system for head tracking using an iOS device's camera back in 2011. Apple has expressed interest in similar technology in the past, with a 2009 patent detailing face-controlled 3D displays, and it has implemented accessibility options in iOS 7 allowing iPhone users to control their devices using head movements.

Umoove Experience: The 3D Face & Eye Tracking Flying Game can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Blames In-Store MagSafe Chargers for iPhone 17 Pro Display Model Scratches

Wednesday September 24, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
The marks on the iPhone 17 Pro models that people have noticed at Apple retail stores are caused by the chargers that Apple uses, Apple confirmed today. Apple told 9to5Mac that worn MagSafe charging stands in stores are causing marks on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple says that the marks are not scratches, and are instead material transfer from the stand to the phone. The...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Confirms iOS 26 Wallet Passport Feature is Coming in 2025

Tuesday September 23, 2025 1:06 pm PDT by
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today. Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads. Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro is Vulnerable to Scratching, But Not Where You Might Think

Tuesday September 23, 2025 2:18 pm PDT by
Early reports have suggested that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are more vulnerable to scratches and scuffs, primarily due to damage spotted at Apple Stores. Apple customers have discovered that the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models Apple has out for display at its retail locations have scratching in the area of the MagSafe charger. Those devices are handled by hundreds to thousands of...

Top Rated Comments

jrswizzle Avatar
153 months ago
Useless gimmick.

Oh wait, this isn't Samsung? Then, it's the most revolutionary thing ever existed!!

It's a game - by definition, relatively gimmicky.

But of course, gotta make sure to get in a defense of Samsung and shot at Apple and its fans huh? :rolleyes:

Seems like it could be cool for games. Surprised that its so software dependent. I guess I just assumed there was some hardware involved in the tracking stuff.....

Interesting.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menneisyys2 Avatar
153 months ago
Useless gimmick.

Oh wait, this isn't Samsung? Then, it's the most revolutionary thing ever existed!!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
153 months ago
It's a game - by definition, relatively gimmicky.

But of course, gotta make sure to get in a defense of Samsung and shot at Apple and its fans huh? :rolleyes:
And Apple's not involved.

I'm trying to imagine why anyone would expect people to have great loyalty to some company called Umoove that nobody ever heard of--and then be offended in advance by that loyalty?

Really? Anti-Umoove trolling? All over a cool little tech demo with some future potential?

Samsung trolls have gotten increasingly bizarre.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
irfaanfaki Avatar
153 months ago
Seems to work fairly well I've tested it on an iPad. Wonder if it's worth $3.2 billion ?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Klae17 Avatar
153 months ago
Useless gimmick.

Oh wait, this isn't Samsung? Then, it's the most revolutionary thing ever existed!!

Troll alert. Who said it wasn't a useless gimmick? Plus this is some random small company, not Apple. Fail.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pgiguere1 Avatar
153 months ago
One is a game and one is pausing a video.

It's only a double standard if it's the same things being treated differently. Those features are in no way the same thing.
Not just that, but it's also not like this "game" (more like tech demo) is preinstalled on new iPhones and marketed by Apple as a major selling point of their new phone.

It seems like a bunch of MacRumors readers have switched to a Samsung phone and will upvote any positive comment about Samsung, no matter how dumb, to validate their purchase.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the community here is going downhill. We should of course not blindly defend Apple either, but at least try to stay on-topic and rational, and not upvote those who aren't. But you'll often see a totally illogical, off-topic comment about Samsung in top comments instead...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)