Smart Eye

Tag: Eye Tracking Applications

  • Eye Tracking Systems for Research Projects: Important Features and Capability Considerations Checklist

  • Eye Tracking Technology 101: Guide to Common Industry Terminology

  • Eye Tracking Systems Guide for Research: Visualization, Analysis, and Reporting

  • How to Determine The Right Eye Tracker for Your Research Project: Advanced Features and Capabilities to Consider

  • How to Improve Flight Safety with Eye Tracking: Pilot Training and Simulation

  • How Eye Tracking Helps Improve Road Safety by Fighting Driver Distraction with SeeReal

  • How to Determine The Right Eye Tracker for Your Research Project: Measurement Parameters

    Purchasing the right eye tracking system for your research can be a challenging process. Last week, we kicked off this process to understand your research and requirements for eye trackers with regard to your environment. Today, we will cover questions you should consider around measurement parameters, such as gaze sectors, intersections and accuracy.

    Gaze Sectors / Intersections 

    When looking at Measurement Parameters, it is important to consider what data is relevant to your research objectives. Nearly all eye tracking systems will provide eye gaze vectors, but some eye trackers leave it up to the researcher to calculate where the gaze is intersecting the environment. 

    However, a few systems can provide not only gaze vectors but also gaze intersections with real-world objects. One of the advantages of Smart Eye’s most advanced eye tracking system, Smart EyePro, is that it has a 3D world model which is a wire-frame representation of the test environment. Not only does Smart Eye Proprovide the eye gaze vectors, it also provides the intersection points/locations on the world model where the gaze intersects it. 

    This can be extremely advantageous, as you will see further detailed in our latest eBook on eye tracking technology. If your research involves assessing drowsiness or workload, you will want a tracking system that can not only provide eye gaze data but can also provide critical measurements such as eye opening data (inc. blinks), head position and rotations, as well as pupillometry. 

    Accuracy 

    Another key question to ask is what level of accuracy is needed for your projects. Accuracy levels can range significantly depending on the system you choose. Sometimes, an estimated gaze with lower accuracy is acceptable, which can often savecost. If cost is a concern, systems with lower accuracy or lower camera image-capture rates are inherently cheaper as they are technologically easier to create, orare just simply priced cheaper as a way of market competition advantage. But there are many other factors that should also be considered. 

    For instance, if you are interested in saccades or micro-saccades, you should consider a system that offers a higher sampling rate. This is because saccades happen in short time intervals, and microsaccades in even shorter time intervals. In order to capture these small time intervals, a higher sampling rate (image capture rate)is required. Sampling rates canrange from 30 Hz to >1000 Hz.

    Learn more in our latest e-book, where we will cover more on advanced features and capabilities to consider when looking at eye tracking systems. 

    Download – A Guide to Selecting Eye Tracking Solutions.

  • How To Determine The Right Eye Tracker for Your Research Project: Requirements and Features for Your Environment

    Purchasing the right eye tracking system for your research can be a challenging process. As previously mentioned, there are many different types of eye tracking solutions with a wide range of features and capabilities available in market today. Generally, they all work well in specific applications. So, before you decide on an eye tracking solution, you should ask yourself a few simple questions: 

    • What environment will you be testing in? 
    • What type of measurement parameters and metrics are needed? 
    • How would you like to analyze the data? 
    • How would you like to visualize the data? 
    • What advanced features or capabilities will be needed for your specific project? 
    • What is your budget? 

    Let’s dive into these questions in a little more detail to help explain the importance of each. Today we’ll be starting with your Environment. 

    When looking at your environment, it is important to first determine where you will be testing. The following are key environmental aspects to consider: 

    • Will you be testing on a single display screen?
    • Or is the environment a bit more complex like a multi-screen application, simulator,vehicle or aircraft cockpit, or an open space,etc.? 
    • Will you need flexibility and versatility to use the eye tracking system in multiple environments?
    • Will you need scalability for future projects that may require a wider Field of View (FOV)? 
    • What lighting conditions will you be testing in? Sunlight or poor lighting can present challenges for some eye tracking systems. 
    • What is the mobility of your test subjects?Are they stationary or moving freely? 
    • Will your test subjects be wearing sunglasses or prescription glasses?
    • Are your test subjects willing or able to wear head mounted eye tracking systems or eye tracking glasses? Wearing a device can sometimes be a challenge for younger or older participants, as it is unnatural. Some subjects cannot wear them as they already wear prescription glasses. Also, these devices can slip which impacts data. 

    Learn more in our latest e-book, where we will cover more on accuracy and more – A Guide to Selecting Eye Tracking Solutions.

  • Introducing Smart Eye Pro 10: Streamlined Set Up with Enhanced User-Friendly Experience

    Already the world’s most advanced remote eye tracking system, the Smart Eye Pro multi-camera system scales to include up to 8 cameras, ideal for complex research environments, setups and situations. Today’s announcement of Smart Eye Pro 10 release includes a number of hardware and software components that will enhance user experience and significantly streamline product set up.

    Smart Eye is always looking for ways we can improve our products for our customers. It’s really important to us that we continuously apply user feedback to constantly provide value to our customers with product enhancements. For researchers working in complex environments, the most common request was to make our systems even easier to use, and we are excited to be able to deliver on that today.

    For our customers that already have the Smart Eye XO software, they can now upgrade it from 60 or 120 Hz frame rate to 120Hz or 250 Hz with a simple  software upgrade, similar to our recent announcement of Aurora 250 and Expansion Box. This increased 250 Hz frame rate allows research groups to study eye movements in more depth, as it more accurately detects the start and end point of fixations and saccades. This is important in many research studies where short saccades are common. The increased frame rate also reduces the latency of the eye tracker output, or the time from when the actual eye movement occurs to when the data is calculated and output generated from the eye tracker. This low latency is a critical component in interactive psychology research such as gaze contingency research where what is being displayed on the screen depends on eye movements of the subject.)

    Another new feature of this release includes our eye tracker management tool, “Smart Eye Go.” Smart Eye Go allows researchers to remotely control the Smart Eye Pro system, giving users the functions needed to operate the software, and thus get direct access to the data. This application is a simple user interface that allows users to calibrate gaze for the Smart Eye Pro system set up, which is a user-friendly addition that empowers researchers with more autonomy in their experiments.

    In addition to this updated software release and application, a number of improvements have been made to the Smart Eye Pro hardware to ease the experience of use. In the past, our multi-camera setup could often be challenging to install in complex environments – such as flight simulators – as the user must be well versed in connections between the hardware components including cameras and IR illuminators and control hardware. This was not only a frequent customer request to streamline our system – for example, reducing the number of cables and freeing up valuable technical real estate in crowded setups – but a sustainable one as well. With the global component shortage being an ever-present issue, our updated hardware will also ensure that researchers have access to the hardware they need to conduct their valuable experiments.

    The new hardware components include high resolution cameras, illuminators and exponator, which is our synchronization hardware to sync cameras and illuminators. The new exponator has improved diagnostic features that makes the system operation more efficient, as it clearly indicates if all components in the system are working as expected. Should something go wrong, troubleshooting is quick as it is easy to spot which part is failing.

    All of these aspects enable easier and more efficient setup and configuration.

    With the release of Smart Eye Pro 10, Smart Eye continues its mission to make complex research environments much simpler to set up for our customers, and help make their lives easier to conduct their important work.

     

     

    View technical specifications of Smart Eye Pro 10 here.

    Want to know more about how Smart Eye Pro 10 works? Get in touch, and we’ll be happy to set up a live demonstration.

    Get in touch.

  • 3 Major Advantages of Eye Tracking for Researchers

    Last week, we gave you an introduction to eye tracking technology. Today, we are going to give a quick overview on what the three major advantages eye tracking provides to researchers:

    1. Data-driven approach.
      Rather than simple observation of where someone is looking (which is rather subjective in nature), an optical tracker supplies objective data. It takes the guess-work out of the equation and provides precise and objective data (or proof) of where the subject is looking. For instance, in pilot training, the instructor no longer has to rely on the pilot’s recollection of their scanning patterns, since eye tracking data will give them an exact answer of where they were looking and when. This provides a deeper view into human to human and / or to human to machine interaction.
    2. Fixations and scan patterns.
      Where a subject fixates, in addition to their scan patterns, can help understand where and how the subject is directing their attention.
      Fixation and scan patterns can provide indications of cognition. When someone pauses on a particular location, it can indicate that there was a focused attention and perhaps cognitive processing.
    3. Analyze areas of interest.
      By tracking where a subject is looking, researchers can gain an understanding of how people perceive and interact with their environment.  

    Areas of specific interest can be outlined so a researcher can gain detailed information on how often and when that specific area is viewed, for how long it is viewed, and how many subjects viewed that location.

    Learn more in our latest e-book, where we will cover more on the requirements and features of eye tracking for research here. 

    Download – A Guide to Selecting Eye Tracking Solutions.