![]() The freedom of movement is (usually) sufficiently large for respondents to feel unrestricted.Īre fitted near the eyes and therefore allow respondents to move around as freely as they would like – certainly a plus if your study design requires respondents to be present in various areas (e.g. Although screen-based systems track the eyes only within certain limits, they are able to move a limited amount, as long as it is within the limits of the eye tracker’s range. Require respondents to sit in front of a screen or close to the stimulus being used in the experiment. The truth is a bit more complex than that Going for a low quality system will prevent you from being able to extract high precision data.Ī common misconception is that researchers face an inevitable trade-off between measurement accuracy and the amount of movement the respondent can make with their head. The quality of the collected data depends primarily on the tracking accuracy of the device you use. Measurement precision certainly is crucial in eye movement research. Recommended for observations of objects and task performance in any real-life or virtual environments (usability studies, product testing, etc.).Respondent is able to walk around freely.Mounted onto lightweight eyeglass frames.Records eye activity from a close range.Webcam-based eye tracking has been seen as an option, but this technology is inherently inferior to infrared-based eye trackers ( something we cover in this blog post). Screen-based (also called remote or desktop) glasses, (also called mobile) and eye tracking within VR headsets. There are three main types of eye tracker: ![]() Near-infrared light is directed toward the center of the eyes (the pupils) causing visible reflections in the cornea (the outer-most optical element of the eye), and this high-contrast image is tracked by a camera. This means that a clear contrast is generated (with little noise) and can, therefore be followed by algorithms (running inside the eye tracker) with ease. The visible spectrum is likely to generate uncontrolled reflections, while illuminating the eye with infrared light – which is not perceivable by the human eye – renders the demarcation of the pupil and the iris an easy task – while the light directly enters the pupil, it just reflects from the iris. The accuracy of eye movement measurement heavily relies on a clear demarcation of the pupil and detection of corneal reflection. The light reflecting from the cornea and the center of the pupil are used to inform the eye tracker about the movement and direction of the eye. Image above: Pupil Center Corneal Reflection (PCCR). We won‘t bore you with the nature of algorithms at this point. The math behind it is …well, a bit more complex. An image of how this looks like is on the right. It essentially involves the camera tracking the pupil center, and where light reflects from the cornea. The underlying concept, commonly referred to as Pupil Center Corneal Reflection (PCCR ), is actually rather simple. Most modern eye trackers utilize near-infrared technology along with a high-resolution camera (or other optical sensor) to track gaze direction. Remote, non-intrusive methods have made eye tracking both an easy-to-use and accessible tool in human behavior research that allows objective measurements of eye movements in real-time. Modern eye trackers are hardly any larger than smart phones and provide an extremely natural experience for respondents. Long gone are the rigid experimental setups and seating arrangements you might think of. While early devices were highly intrusive and involved particularly cumbersome procedures to set up, modern eye trackers have undergone quite a technological evolution in recent years. ![]() The technology behind eye trackingĮye tracking use is on the rise. This page is packed with all the need-to-knows and useful tools to help you get a solid grasp of eye tracking technology and best practices. While the idea of eye tracking is quite straightforward, the technology behind it might strike you as rather complex and inaccessible. More specifically, eye tracking describes the recording of eye position and movement in an environment based on the optical tracking of corneal reflections to assess visual attention. Put simply, eye tracking refers to the measurement of eye activity. Where do we look? What do we look at, and how much time do we spend looking at it? How do our pupils react to different kinds of visual stimulation? When exactly do we blink? ![]()
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