Welcome to Athena, the smarter, faster, more accessible way to read. Using eye tracking and artificial intelligence, Athena’s patented technology detects when, where, and how fast you are reading and automatically scrolls the display accordingly. There are no new behaviors that have to be learned, just read and Athena will do the rest. If you can’t touch your screen or you prefer not to, you can use simple eye gestures to swipe up and down. If you have trouble focusing or remembering what you read, Athena’s reading rulers can help keep you on track. Our mission is to make digital content more accessible and easier to read, for everyone.

Instructions on how to use the App

1. This app is set up as a Safari extension and App extension. When you are viewing certain content in Safari, Athena’s blue icon will be displayed on the bottom right corner of the screen. Simply tap the icon to open the page in Athena. 

2. You can also share articles and content from other Apps or browsers directly to Athena. To open an article or page from another App or browser, tap the share icon, select Athena, and enjoy Athena Intelligence. 

3. Reading Detection with Smart Scroll: Just read like you normally would and Athena automatically scrolls the screen accordingly. If you skip a few lines or jump past an image, Athena will detect that and scroll further. 

4. Eye Gestures allow you to swipe up and down with your eyes. Eye Gestures are turned off when first installing the app. To turn Eye Gestures on, tap the Menu button > tap the settings button (gear icon) > tap Blink Gesture.

To initiate an Eye Gesture: focus your gaze towards the top or bottom of the screen, then blink twice while keeping your gaze focused in the same direction. Athena will scroll in that direction. Go ahead and try it out! 

5. Eye Control Calibration: If you find that Smart Scroll or Eye Gestures are not responding correctly, you may need to calibrate Eye Control. To calibrate, tap the Menu button in the bottom right corner > tap the double circle Bullseye button > follow the calibration instructions. It only takes about 30 seconds.

6. Reading modes: Athena offers three different modes to accommodate your reading needs. 1) Fullscreen which is what you are viewing now, 2) Focus which displays three lines of text at a time, and 3) Highlight which shades three lines of text. To change reading modes: tap Menu > tap Settings icon > make your selection.

7. Reader view: When sharing content to Athena it is automatically loaded in reader view which strips out non-essential content, like ads, pop ups, and other distracting elements.

More about Athena

Please note that Athena technology relies on the front-facing camera to track your eyes so you must enable camera access for Eye Control to work. If the camera does not have a clear line of sight to your eyes the system will not work correctly so be sure that your face and eyes are visible and within roughly 24 inches of the camera. Being too far away from the screen and camera can impact Athena’s accuracy. All of Athena’s technology runs on your device and no personal or sensitive information is tracked or collected by Athena. 

Let us know if you have any questions, issues, or requests. This app demonstrates just a few use cases for Athena’s technology. Please reach out if you’re interested in learning how you can integrate Athena’s Eye Control technology into your own app or device. You can contact Athena at:  support@athenahci.com

Reader App FAQ’s

How do I view content in Athena? 

There are two ways that you can read content in Athena:

1. Via the Safari Extension- when viewing compatible content in Safari, the blue Athena icon will be displayed, simply tap the icon to open the content in Athena

2. Via the Share Extension- when viewing articles or text-heavy websites, tap the share icon, select Athena from the menu to open the content in Athena

How do I set up the Safari Extension?

• If you have not already you need to enable Athena in your iOS Settings: Go to your device Settings> Safari> Extensions> Athena> Turn on Athena

• Safari will also ask you to confirm your permissions: We recommend that you select Always Allow and Always Allow on all websites, otherwise the Athena Extension icon will not be visible

What does it mean if the menu button is orange? 

• The menu button should be blue if the system is working properly

• If the menu button is consistently orange or intermittently orange, there may be an issue with the eye tracking 

• Try restarting the app

• Try repositioning the device to be sure the front facing camera has a clear view of your eyes

Why isn’t the automatic scrolling keeping up with my reading? 

• Be sure that your device’s front facing camera is within view of your eyes and face

• You may need to bring the device closer to your face

• Be sure that the lighting conditions are not too dark or too bright 

• Try to limit the movement of your head and the device while reading in the app

• You may need to calibrate Eye Control if you have not already or recalibrate again

What can I do if the scrolling is too fast for me? 

• Try restarting the app

• Low lighting conditions can affect the reading detection accuracy and lead to inadvertent scrolling

• You may need to bring the device closer to your face

• Try to limit the movement of your head and the device while reading in the app

What personal information does Athena track or collect?

• Athena does NOT track any personal information, including, your name, email, browsing history, passwords, phone numbers, or credit cards

• All of the operations of Athena remain on your device