Research topic
In recent years the remote eye tracking technology has rapidly developed. Only a few years ago the standard application of eye tracking was quite intrusive, e.g. it required equipment to be mounted on the user’s head and/or the user’s head to be fixated. Nowadays, several academic and commercial systems have evolved to the point to be able to operate without contact with the user, and to permit free head movement within reasonable limits, without losing tracking and with a good accuracy (1 degree or better) (see Böhme et al., 2006 for a review). However, despite those advances in remote eye tracking systems, there are still several areas in which improvements are needed before these systems can be extensively used in human-computer interfaces (including but not limited to biomedical and research settings, Duchowski, 2007). The aspects that require further progress include ease of use, accuracy, robustness and, last but not least, affordable price (Böhme et al., 2006).
Research specific problems
- How can be improved the accuracy of a remote low cost eye-tracker based on off-the-shelf components and open source modular software?
Research method
- Improving the accuracy in gaze detection by enhancing the results of the Starburst algorithm (Meyer et al., 2006) (e.g., using a dual threshold approach to detect relevant eye components or using machine learning and/or artificial intelligence techniques)
Examples of research of this type carried out by the group
- Cipriani, D., Caligiore, D., Baldassarre, G., Rothkopf, C., Triesch, J., De Marsico, M. (2013). OGTA: Open gaze tracker and analyzer a remote low cost system based on off-the-shelf components and open source modular software. Journal of Eye Movement Research. Abstract, 6, 550 - 550. K. Holmqvist, F. Mulvey, R. Johansson (eds.). International Group for Eye Movement Research.
Requested motivations of the candidate
- Strong interest in the topic and motivation to carry out research on it (very important)
- Desire to acquire the knowledge and methods of the group
Requested skills of the candidate
- Capacity of programming in C/C++/C#/Java
- Capacity to read and understand scientific papers in English
- Capacity to contribute to write reports in English
References
- Böhme, M., Meyer, A., Martinetz, T. et al. (2006). Remote eye tracking: State of the art and directions for future development. Proceedings of the Conference on Communication by Gaze Interaction, 12.
- Cipriani, D., Caligiore, D., Baldassarre, G., Rothkopf, C., Triesch, J., De Marsico, M. (2013). OGTA: Open gaze tracker and analyzer a remote low cost system based on off-the-shelf components and open source modular software. Journal of Eye Movement Research. Abstract, 6, 550 - 550. K. Holmqvist, F. Mulvey, R. Johansson (eds.). International Group for Eye Movement Research.
- Duchowski, A. T. (2007). Eye tracking methodology: Theory and Practice. Springer.
- Meyer, A., Böhme, M., Martinetz, T. et al. (2006). A single-camera remote eye tracker. Perception and Interactive Technologies, 4021 of LNAI, 208. Springer.