ACM TechNews

Eye-Tracking Interface Means Gamers' Looks Can Kill

New Scientist (05/05/08) Perkins, Ceri

The European Union-funded Communication by Gaze Interaction (COGAIN) project is developing eye-gaze software that will enable people with severe motor disabilities to play 3D computer games at the same level as regular gamers. The eye-gaze software helps disabled users protect their privacy online by enabling them to function normally in virtual worlds, says lead researcher Stephen Vickers of De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom. Eye-gaze systems bounce infrared light from LEDs at the bottom of a computer monitor to track a person's eye movements using infrared cameras. The systems are able to determine where a person is looking with an accuracy of about 5 mm. COGAIN software includes a traditional point-and-click interface as well as extra functions to speed up certain commands. For example, glancing off screen in a particular direction switches functions, such as a mode that rotates the avatar or viewpoint, or selecting transparent icons that can be dragged onto game objects to perform actions. A "gaze gesture" has also been added to temporarily turn off the eye-gaze functions to prevent unintentionally selecting an item while looking around the screen. "The eyes are perceptual organs, not designed for pointing and selecting," Vickers says. "You can't turn them off, like you can lift your hand off the mouse."

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/
dn13830-eyetracking-interface-means-gamers-looks-can-kill.html

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