Gaze-Based Interaction Design (Speculative Interface)

Project advisors: Dr. Matthew Peterson & Dr. Deborah Littlejohn

2017

INTRODUCTION

Eye-tracking technology has been used for decades now, to observe media interactions, and for motor-control accessibility. This speculative project explores the potential of gaze for purposes beyond inclusive design.

This study explores 2 conditions: infancy and maturity. The infancy condition is our actual present, where users are accustomed to traditional input devices (i.e. the mouse and trackpad) and unfamiliar with gaze as a source of input. In the maturity condition, users are conversant with gaze-control and prepared for more extreme demands. Throughout the exploration, this project seeks an interactive system as a plausible application of the gaze-based interface

FROM CURSOR TO GAZE

The gaze is a fundamental input and a natural output of human-beings. Interacting with a system (i.e. in a human social system, or an artificial system), we act as both a receiver and a producer. I started this project from thinking about - what kinds of information does a system can get from the gaze instead of a cursor?

1. Focus

The gaze can show more precise information about where a user focuses on than the cursor does.

2. Real-time Progress

The system can learn how much content the reader goes through.

3. Emotion

A particular perspective which has been taken by the viewer shows an emotional relationship between the observed and observer.
The pupil tells your inner world loudly…

4. Location

The location of the viewer (position, distance, etc.)

INFANCY VS. MATURITY

Considering the users, there are two groups in general – Infancy and Maturity. Infancies are accustomed to traditional input while maturities are conversant with gaze-control. Based on these characteristics, design recommendations are made for the two conditions as follows.

The Infancy Condition

1. A Leading Gaze For specific tasks or demands, infancy users may want to have a leading gaze that highlights the right method to go through. Because they easily lose themselves and forget their intention while taking much attention to interact with the system.

Specific tasks can be, for instance, an online course. Students need a leading gaze from an advisor so that they can keep focus. The system, by interacting with the students, can get the progress in real-time.

2. Offering Choices Users take less energy on controlling gaze in many details while interacting with the system and are able to focus on the content.

3. A Confirmation Section – Error Prevention A confirmation section visualizes the system status. Besides, it gives users a chance to end up an error any time during the confirmation process.

The Maturity Condition

1. Users scan through contents quickly and pick up useful information Through the eye-tracking experiment, I found users who are more mature are able to pick up useful information quickly by paying attention to the title and the first sentence of each paragraph.

2. “Dig deeper” by layers The content will be represented by layers. The later a layer comes, the more details it will have.

APPLICATION – MUSEUM

I love museums and find that the gaze interaction system can be a useful application for tourists. For any exhibit, it would only be an ordinary object if visitors ignore the story behind it. When it was made; by whom; for what purposes? Those interesting questions make the exhibit alive, and as entrances that lead us back to history.

The museum label is the traditional form of showing visitors the background information. However, not everyone in the limited space has a chance to take a close look at the exhibit and its label. A gaze-based interface of an AR system can lead a visitor to go through the exhibition without interrupting other visitors.

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