Do the eyes lie? New technology says 'yes'

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A computer program that can tell if a person is lying just by tracking eye movement, may sound like science fiction. However, a company is pitching the technology to Houston area law enforcement and businesses.

It's called EyeDetect and it was developed by Converus. EyeDetect analyzes eye behavior to tell if a person is lying. The company claims their product is simpler to use than traditional polygraphs and requires less expertise.

"The eyes are the window to the soul and science has proven that is true," said EyeDetect spokesman, Neal Harris.

During demonstrations Friday, Harris used EyeDetect to correctly determine audience participants' randomly chosen numbers.

Their responses, along with pupillary changes and eye movements were measured. Essentially, when you lie, the size of your pupils change and a little camera measures those changes. An algorithm then predicts if users are being deceptive.

The test takes about 30 minutes sitting in front of a tablet. The company claims it is 85 percent accurate.

"You would know that we are lying if we were to claim it were 100 percent accurate," said Harris.

EyeDetect costs about $4000 for the equipment, plus licensing fees for the software.