Eye Tracking Partnership Targets Cockpit Pilot Performance

Cineon has formed a new partnership with Smart Eye, expanding accessible performance insights in simulator-based aviation training.

The collaboration brings together Cineon's Empathic Learning Engine (ELE) with Smart Eye's MicroBird system, a non-intrusive environmental eye tracking solution designed for complex, real-world settings such as aircraft cockpits. The combined solution enables objective insight into pilot competency and cognition without the need for wearable hardware.

As part of the collaboration, Cineon is integrating Smart Eye's eye tracking capability with its ELE platform, supported by a dedicated dashboard tailored specifically to Smart Eye data.

The system discreetly mounts cameras within the cockpit environment, capturing gaze and facial data with no impact on the trainee. Custom cockpit models allow gaze to be mapped directly to specific instruments, providing rich, contextual insight into pilot scanning and situational awareness.

Unlike VR-based eye tracking or wearable eye-tracking glasses, the system works effectively with pilots who wear prescription glasses, a longstanding barrier in aviation eye tracking, says the company.

For Cineon, Smart Eye's technology strengthens its work within the aviation sector while expanding the reach of ELE across a broader range of training environments.

Toby de Burgh, CEO and founder of Cineon, said: "Eye tracking has always had huge potential in aviation, but in practice it hasn't been easy to use at scale. What's exciting about working with Smart Eye is that we're removing a lot of those barriers. Together, we are enhancing how human performance is understood and developed in the cockpit."

Solmaz Shahmehr, Vice President of Applied AI at Smart Eye AB, said:
"Cineon's focus on human performance and competency-based training aligns strongly with our mission at Smart Eye. By integrating MicroBird with Cineon's ELE system, we are extending the impact of Human Insight AI into aviation training in a way that is practical, inclusive and grounded in real operational needs. This collaboration demonstrates how eye tracking can unlock deeper understanding in complex, safety-critical environments."

Smart Eye's Human Insight AI enables technology to understand, support and predict human behavior in complex environments. Its solutions are used across automotive, aviation, neuroscience, behavioral research and media analytics.