Skip to main content

With a Flick of the Eye: Assessing Gaze-Controlled Human-Computer Interaction

  • Chapter
Human Centered Robot Systems

Part of the book series: Cognitive Systems Monographs ((COSMOS,volume 6))

Abstract

Gaze-controlled user interfaces appear to be a viable alternative to manual mouse control in human-computer interaction. Eye movements, however, often occur involuntarily and fixations do not necessarily indicate an intention to interact with a particular element of a visual display. To address this so-called Midas-touch problem, we investigated two methods of object/action selection using volitional eye movements, fixating versus blinking, and evaluated error rates, response times, response accuracy and user satisfaction in a text-typing task. Results show significantly less errors for the blinking method while task completion times do only vary between methods when practice is allowed. In that case, the fixation method is quicker than the blinking method. Also, participants rate the fixation method higher for its ease of use and regard it as less tiring. In general, blinking appears more suited for sparse and non-continuous input (e.g., when operating ticket vending machines), whereas fixating seems preferable for tasks requiring more rapid and continuous selections (e.g., when using virtual keyboards). We could demonstrate that the quality of the selection method does not rely on efficiency measures (e.g., error rate or task completion time) alone: user satisfaction measures must certainly be taken into account as well to ensure user-friendly interfaces and, furthermore, gaze-controlled interaction methods must be adapted to specific applications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Burr, D.: Eye Movements: Keeping Vision Stable. Current Biology 14, 195–197 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Helmert, J.R., Pannasch, S., Velichkovsky, B.M.: Influences of dwell time and cursor control on the performance in gaze driven typing. Journal of Eye Movement Research 2(4, 3), 1–8 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Itti, L., Koch, C., Niebur, E.: A Model of Saliency-Based Visual Attention for Rapid Scene Analysis. IEEE Trans. on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 20, 1254–1259 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Jacob, R.J.K.: Eye Tracking in Advanced Interace Design. In: Barfield, W., Furness III, T.A. (eds.) Virtual Environments and Advanced Interface Design, pp. 258–288. Oxford University Press, New York (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Just, M.A., Carpenter, P.A.: A theory of reading: From eye fixations to comprehension. Psychological Review 87, 329–354 (1980)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Korn, H.: Schizophrenia and eye movement - a new diagnostic and therapeutic concept. Medical Hypotheses 62, 29–34 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Pomplun, M., Carbone, E., Koesling, H., Sichelschmidt, L., Ritter, H.: Computational models of visual tagging. In: Rickheit, G., Wachsmuth, I. (eds.) Situated Communication, pp. 209–242. De Gruyter, Berlin (2006)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Rayner, K.: Understanding eye movements in reading. Scientific Studies of Reading 1, 317–339 (1997)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  9. Rettie, R., Brewer, C.: The verbal and visual components of package design. Journal of Product and Brand Management 9, 56–70 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Stampe, D.: Heuristic filtering and reliable calibration methods for video-based pupil-tracking systems. Behavioral Research Methods, Instruments and Computers 25, 137–142 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Underwood, G.: Eye fixations on pictures of natural scenes: getting the gist and identifying the components. In: Underwood, G. (ed.) Cognitive Processes in Eye Guidance, pp. 163–187. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Vertegaal, R.: Designing attentive interfaces. In: Proceedings of the symposium on eye tracking research and applications (ETRA 2002), pp. 22–30 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Zhai, S.: What’s in the eyes for attentive input. Communication ACM 46, 34–39 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Koesling, H., Zoellner, M., Sichelschmidt, L., Ritter, H. (2009). With a Flick of the Eye: Assessing Gaze-Controlled Human-Computer Interaction. In: Ritter, H., Sagerer, G., Dillmann, R., Buss, M. (eds) Human Centered Robot Systems. Cognitive Systems Monographs, vol 6. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10403-9_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10403-9_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-10402-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-10403-9

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics