Eye Gaze Tracking: A Breakthrough in Human Computer Interaction
Harsimrat Deo · 2015
Eye-gaze tracking holds the potential of becoming a very useful methodology for human computer interaction (HCI). However, integrating gaze tracking in everyday applications has been difficult for the factors ranging from invasiveness and robustness to availability and pricing. In past decade, gaze-tracking has been widely explored for usability in applications of HCI but it still has not been able to secure a place in general interface interaction in day-to-day life. Today, Eye-gaze tracking systems cost lakhs of Rupees, and thus their application is only limited to high-end niche products generally in research domain. It is important to note however that the bulk of this cost is not due to hardware, as the price of high-quality camera technology has dropped over the last ten years. Rather, the costs are mostly associated with customized software development, sometimes integrated with specialized, although inexpensive, digital processors, to obtain high-speed performance. In spite of many practical issues concerning the use of eye-movement tracking as input device in human computer interaction, it is a method that is increasingly being employed to study usability issues in HCI contexts. The objectives of this paper are to introduce the reader to the basics of eye- movement technology, and also present key aspects of practical guidance to those who might be interested in using eye tracking in HCI research, whether in usability- evaluation studies, or for capturing people's eye movements as an input mechanism to drive system interaction. Various opportunities for eye-movement studies in future HCI research and some of the challenges that need to be overcome to enable effective application of the technique in studying the complexities of advanced interactive-system use are also discussed.