Skip to main content

Eye-tracking technology

By

Advancements in microtechnology, photonic devices, image sensors and illuminators are helping people with speech impairments and other disabilities communicate and experience a greatly enhanced quality of life without the need for bulky head gear or a bite bar.

A recent article in SPIE Professional magazine outlines the innovations that Swedish-based Tobii Technology has made with eye-tracking technologies for augmentative communication systems for people with ALS, (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), for example, as well as for applications in auto safety, medical imaging, human psychology research and more.

“Assistive technologies and eye tracking make a natural pair to allow people with disabilities to regain independence and maintain communication,” said Henrik Eskilsson, CEO and co-founder of Tobii Technology.

Different from eye-recognition technologies in which a device responds to whether a user’s eyes are looking at it or are open or closed, Tobii’s eye-tracking technology enables the user’s gaze point to become a selecting device on computers, tablets, and other devices, all with a subject sitting and moving in a natural manner in front of a computer.

Tobii eye trackers are based on the principle of corneal-reflection tracking. First, one or several near-infrared illuminators on an eye-tracking device create reflection patterns on the cornea of the eyes.

Image sensors then register the image of the user’s eyes in real time.

Image processing is used to find the eyes, detect the exact position of the pupil and/or iris, and identify the correct reflections from the illuminators and their exact positions.

Mathematical models of the eye are then used to calculate the eyes’ position in 3D and the point of gaze.

This approach frees the subjects being tracked from having to wear subject-stabilizing equipment.

“By using our natural gaze point as part of our user controls, we can experience a more efficient method of obtaining and sharing information and eliminate an interaction barrier between ourselves and our most valued gadgets,” Eskilsson wrote.

Eskilsson says eye-tracking technology is coming soon to the mass consumer market for home electronics systems, video games, accident prevention systems in cars, and even to help athletes optimize their performance.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown05 November, 2013 08:44

    Since there's no online component, you have to retrieve the device from the vehicle before you can review recorded data. Fleet tracking system

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown13 February, 2014 06:16

    I am curious to learn about this technology. I heard the name of this process from one of my friend. From this detail it seems to me an effective technology.
    website eye tracking

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Ways to Celebrate the first International Day of Light

By
The first International Day of Light (IDL) is less than a month away. A global initiative highlighting the importance of light and light-based technologies, communities around the world are planning events celebrating IDL on 16 May. First Place Winner of the 2017 SPIE IDL Photo Contest SPIE will participate in outreach events local to our community in Bellingham, Washington, attend the inauguration in Paris, France, and host an IDL reception for our conference attendees at SPIE Optical Systems Design in Frankfurt, Germany taking place May 14-17. SPIE is also supporting local events in 13 different communities from the US to India, Canada to South Africa, who were awarded SPIE IDL Micro Grants to create activities that highlight the critical role light plays in our daily lives. Do you need some ideas on how to show your appreciation of light on the 16th? Here is our top ten list of ways you can celebrate IDL 2018: 1. Throw a Celebration:  Light up your party with ligh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cataract surgery: misnomer?

By
On left, the patient’s left eye has no cataract and all structures are visible. On right, retinal image from fundus camera confirms the presence of a cataract. (From Choi, Hjelmstad, Taibl, and Sayegh, SPIE Proc. 85671Y , 2013)   Article by guest blogger Roger S. Reiss , SPIE Fellow and recipient of the 2000 SPIE President's Award. Reiss was the original Ad Hoc Chair of SPIE Optomechanical Working Group. He manages the LinkedIn Group “ Photonic Engineering and Photonic Instruments .” The human eye and its interface with the human brain fit the definition of an "instrument system."   The human eye by itself is also an instrument by definition. After the invention of the microscope and the telescope, the human eye was the first and only detector for hundreds of years, only to be supplemented and in most cases supplanted by an electro-optical detector of various configurations. The evolution of the eye has been and still is a mystery.   In National Geogr...
6 comments
Read more

#FacesofPhotonics: NASA Intern Elaine Stewart

By
MIRROR, MIRROR: Elaine with the JWST at Goddard Space  Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland Meet Elaine Stewart: chemical engineering student, world-traveler, intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and this week's SPIE Face of Photonics. Elaine is fascinated by space exploration and how optics impacts our ability to "study distant stars that have never been seen before." Her research has taken her around the world -- from Bochum, Germany, where she studied material science and engineering at Ruhr-Universität, to Houston, Texas, to work on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) while it was under cryogenic vacuum chamber testing, to Melbourne, Australia, where she studied biochemical and product engineering at the University of Melbourne in 2017. And, when she's not busy traversing the globe, she is focusing on graduating from the University of Delaware in 2019 with a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering. Elaine makes a point of remaining an active...
Post a Comment
Read more