A web version of Netytar
A web implementation of the instrument Netytar, which is a software Accessible Digital Musical Instrument controlled by gaze pointing and breath. This porting was developed as a Bachelor Thesis project by Anna Fusari, from University of Milan.
See the page Netytar for more details about the original instrument.
You need a browser capable of running the Web MIDI API in order to play it. The following is a non-exhaustive list of compatible and non-compatible browsers (updated in 2022):
| Chrome | ✔️ |
|---|---|
| Edge | ✔️ |
| Opera | ✔️ |
| Firefox | ❌ |
| Safari | ❌ |
| Internet Explorer | ❌ |
In order to play NetytarWeb properly, you’ll need the same sensors as Netytar : an eye tracker and NeeqBS breath pressure sensor. You can also try it with your mouse and keyboard, but it’s really meant to be played by gaze pointing and breath.
NetytarWeb is compatible with Tobii Eye Trackers such as Tobii Eye Tracker 5 (which have a cost of around 250€) or old, out of production Tobii 4C and Tobii EyeX.
NeeqBS breath pressure sensor can be easily built DIY for around 30€, following the guide you will find on the NITHsensors page.
As an alternative, you can use any peripheral capable of controlling the mouse cursor, as well as to push or simulate a push of the P button on the keyboard. That is, you can try NetytarWeb using your mouse and keyboard, in the same way.
To play NetytarWeb with the sensors, you’ll need a controller, capable of redirecting their output to the web page and MIDI ports. Right now only a Windows version of the controller is available, since Tobii consumer eye trackers are compatible with Windows only. You can download it through the following link, on the Releases page of its GitHub project:
https://github.com/Neeqstock/NetytarWebController/releases
Download the latest release’s .zip file and run NetytarWebController.exe. In order to operate it correctly, you need to select the same MIDI port as the web instrument, then leave the page in foreground (focus). Use L and U on your keyboard to respectively lock/unlock the mouse cursor to your gaze point, detected by your eye tracker.
A common issue you can encounter is the program crashing, leaving you a long error mentioning TobiiEyeXClient.dll. Try the quick fix I’ve talked about in the post A fix for TobiiEyeXClient.dll crashes.
Otherwise, please open an Issue on GitHub, following this link: https://github.com/Neeqstock/NetytarWebController/issues