ZTE is looking for backers for its eye-tracking smartphone. (Photo : Getty Images)
ZTE Corp. has turned to Kickstarter to fund its next big venture: a smartphone that can track the user's eye movements.
Named "Hawkeye," the handset is a handsfree, eye-tracking device launched on Kickstarter as part of ZTE's crowdsourcing platform Project CSX.
It is still in its prototype stage but the Chinese telecom device manufacturer said that the smartphone will adopt a 5.5in full-HD display, dual rear cameras and SIM card slots, a fingerprint sensor, and an expandable memory.
It will also run on Android Nougat and support quick charging.
The most interesting feature of Hawkeye, however, is its eye-tracking capability.
"The eye tracking feature will detect motion using a high resolution, front-facing camera on the phone. Iris motion is detected using camera hardware, then translated into software commands that represent standard gesture motions in Android for swipe," ZTE USA said on its Kickstarter page.
The gadget also comes with a removable self-adhesive case, allowing it to stick to walls and other flat surfaces.
ZTE is aiming to raise $500,000 for the device, with each handset priced $199 during the Kickstarter campaign. The company said devices will be shipped by September. Backers will get a Hawkeye handset, an adhesive case, and free shipping.
ZTE is trying to find a place in a highly saturated smartphones market. In November, the company unveiled a "bezel-less" mobile phone in India as the handset market gets even more competitive back at home.
Rival Huawei, one of the top smartphones makers in China, also launched a dual-lens camera in hopes to cater to the photography-savvy consumers vying for quality but affordable handsets.
The saturated market in China is not only hurting big tech companies like Lenovo, Xiaomi, and ZTE but also the smaller ones.
"China's herd of 300 phone makers may be halved in 12 months by competition, a sales plateau and economic growth that's the slowest in a quarter-century," wrote Bloomberg in a 2016 report, citing analysts.
