Designing gaze interaction systems

John Paulin HansenThe IT University of

CopenhagenDenmark

Short Message System (SMS)

• Mobile• Maximum of 160 characters• Very popular among the 15-24 age

group• Asynchronous• Discreet• Language culture with slang and

abbreviations

% SMS among mobile phone users

Source: Smoreda, Z., Thomas, F. (2000): ”Use of SMS in Europe”

The problem with SMS

• Low efficiency (WPM = 7.93)

• Difficult to learn• Few and small

buttons• Mode-dependent• No mental models

to build on

Solutions to mobile texting

• Virtual QWERTY • Speech recognition • Hand printing (Graffiti)• OPTI, FOCL, ABC-

tapping etc. • BUT:

– still not truly mobile and discreet

– may be difficult to learn– not always 100 %

reliable– Far from QWERTY-

efficiency

?

Gazetalk

• Digital cameras (web and Firewire)

• Type-to-talk • Browser• E-mail• Adaptive word prediction• Freeware and Open

Source• Danish, English and

Japanese versions by 2003

Gaze based interaction

• First system for people with disabilities in 1990 (Frey et. al.)

• Several efficient systems available today - used by e.g. people with ALS

• Why then yet another system?

Problems with existing systems

– Quite a large portion of users is not able to get a sufficiently good calibration

– Most systems are only for stationary, indoor use

– Requires a rather complicated installation by computer experts

– The price is prohibitive (>50.000 d.kr. + PC) which prevents potential users from testing whether this interaction mode would work for them

Question• Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2001 14:41:07 +0200

• Hi there

• I stay in South Africa and my father has had a brain stem stroke. • He cannot move or speak. He can communicate with his eyes. • We are currently using an alphabet chart, but it takes too long • and he gets tired quickly.

• I'm looking for some type of EyeMouse. Something we can plug • into a PC, Design like a virtual keyboard.

• Can you please advise me. • I will appreciate any help.

• Thanks • Nuno Lourenco

Answer• Dear Nuno,

• I'm sorry to tell you but eye trackers that are accurate enough for your • father to indicate at which letter your father is looking at are much too expensive • and are not available for private use. • If your father still can hear, you can ask him to look left or right or up or down • under certain conditions. It may work as a yes or no. • • • • -- • Lo Bour, PhD

• Department of Neurology/Clinical Neurophysiology, H2-222• Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam

Video Demo

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• UI test with eye tracking system

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Freeware versions 2003

Danish Japanese English

Design Process

• 2000: Design students made prototypes

• 2001: Usability students tested first version with limited functionality

• 2002: ALS patients to test version 1.0

Big button browser

Big button browser

Low res head- & eye tracking

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Color: Mean-shift

Shape: Active appearence models

Gaze determination

Web cam Video cam

Ongoing Experiments

• 12 Japanese students• 4 hours of training• Typed 20 JP

characters per minute ~10 WPM with gaze (tested with ”Quick glance”)

• 12 % errors - 3 % with mouse

sec/activation

0,400

0,600

0,800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

m-click m-dwell eye-dwell

Comments from novice users of gaze dwell time

typing:• ”A bit difficult to get used to not

dwelling at un-intended buttons .. reacts in panic”

• ”Difficult to orient yourself without activating something”

• ”It can be hard to keep starring at the buttons you wanth”

Loose coupling of gaze and pointer

• 35 mouse activations analysed:– 40% gaze remaind at

dwelling key– 40% went to other

key durring dwell periode

– 12% went to text field durring dwell periode

– 8% the eye was at another key durring all the dwell periode

Theoretical upper limit

• ”Perfect” Eye tracker and trained user, utilizing all the predictions :– 2 characters per activation– 1,2 seconds per activation (500 ms

dwells. cf. Japanese results)

= 100 characters per minute = 20 wpm, = 24 wpm, 300 ms dwells

Reaching for the moon?

• People talk at 160 to 200 WPM !!!!• Non-typist write at 20 - 35 WPM• AAC typing systems 2 - 26 WPM (1977-

1985)• SMS (Multitap) at 8 WPM • Eye typing systems from 1 to 7 WPM• Birger Bergmann Jeppesen peaked at 12

WPM (Wiwik + QuickGlance)

How fast is fast enough?

• ”It should be clear that speed, in itself, should not be an object, but rather proficiency and ease of operation. On the other hand, when there is a lot to say, or when there is a need for extensive personal interchange, a minimum speed of 25 - 30 wpm is really needed to keep the thought moving”

William G. Pierpont(2001): ”The art & skill of Radio-Telegraphy”

Other approaches• Dario D. Salvucci (1999): 822 ms

pr. character, 10 seconds to find the right word in a data base with 1000 words. User performance 9 - 28 wpm.

DASHER

• Developed by David Mackay, Cambridge University, with Stephen Hawking ”in mind”

• 25 WPM after one hour• 34 WPM when expert• Requires a ”Drivers

license”• ”Fast hands-free writing

by gaze direction” Nature 418:838 (August 2002)

User needs

• Fast• Robust• Daily expressions• Mobile• Changes with

progress of diseases

• Affordable

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Video cam Web cam

Progress of ALS disease

• Loss of voice• Reduced control of arms and legs• Reduced control of fingers• Reduced head movements• Just eye movements

ALS Scenarios

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Keyboard Mouse Head Gaze

ALS Scenarios

Keyboardand mouse

Mouse orjoystick

Head Gaze

Mobile Scenarios

Plane Coach Metro Strolling

Classes of Mobile Devices

Mobile phone PDA LaptopPrice $10-$100 Hundreds of $ Thousands of $

Storage <10 MB Hundreds of MB Tens of GBCPU <10 MHz 50-200MHz ~1GHzSize ~3x10 cm ~6x10cm ~20x30cmInput Keys Keys,

touchscreenand pen

QWERTY + pointingdevice

Screenarea

~10 cm2 Tens of cm2 Hundreds of cm2

Purpose Communica-tion

Organizer/ datacollection

Office tasks

Gaze and voice interaction with mobile phones

A. Jameson, Germany research center for artificial intelligence.

Helmet mounted displays

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Gaze interaction for special tasks

• Industrial inspection

• Field-communication

• Security• Medical

information systems

”Hands-free”-gaze interaction for all

• Private mobile-communication:– Faster than SMS– Note taking during

video conferences and

– Dynamic indication of attention from several participants

Transfer of innovations

ALS- Patient:– No voice

– Just head- or gaze control

– Imprecise pointing

– Acceleration of text-input

Mobile user– Noise or need for

private communication – Hands-free interaction

– Shaky environments or small displays

– Word prediction on mobile units with limited number of keys

Future applications

www.gazetalk.org:The IT-University of CopenhagenTokyo Institute of TechnologyThe Danish Muscular Dystrophy Association…and hopefully more to come

Exhibition at the IST Conference, Copenhagen,November 4 -6 , 2002.