UX Analysis

Using synchronized eye and motion tracking to determine high-precision eye-movement patterns during object-interaction tasks

This study explores the role that vision plays in sequential object interactions. We used a head-mounted eye tracker and upper-limb motion capture to quantify visual behavior while participants performed two standardized functional tasks. By simultaneously recording eye and motion tracking, we precisely segmented participants' visual data using the movement data, yielding a consistent and highly functionally resolved data set of real-world object-interaction tasks. Our results show that participants spend nearly the full duration of a trial fixating on objects relevant to the task, little time fixating on their own hand when reaching toward an object, and slightly more time—although still very little—fixating on the object in their hand when transporting it. A consistent spatial and temporal pattern of fixations was found across participants. In brief, participants fixate an object to be picked up at least half a second before their hand arrives at the object and stay fixated on the object until they begin to transport it, at which point they shift their fixation directly to the drop-off location of the object, where they stay fixated until the object is successfully released. This pattern provides additional evidence of a common system for the integration of vision and object interaction in humans, and is consistent with theoretical frameworks hypothesizing the distribution of attention to future action targets as part of eye and hand-movement preparation. Our results thus aid the understanding of visual attention allocation during planning of object interactions both inside and outside the field of view.

Eye Tracking Glasses

Software

9 versions available

Using visual cues to leverage the use of speech input in the vehicle

Touch and speech input often exist side-by-side in multimodal systems. Speech input has a number of advantages over touch, which are especially relevant in safety critical environments such as driving. However, information on large screens tempts drivers to use touch input for interaction. They lack an effective trigger, which reminds them that speech input might be the better choice. This work investigates the efficacy of visual cues to leverage the use of speech input while driving. We conducted a driving simulator experiment with 45 participants that examined the influence of visual cues, task type, driving scenario, and audio signals on the driver’s choice of modality, glance behavior and subjective ratings. The results indicate that visual cues can effectively promote speech input, without increasing visual distraction, or restricting the driver’s freedom to choose. We propose that our results can be applied to other applications such as smartphones or smart home applications.

Simulator

Software

4 versions available

Varieties of interaction: from User Experience to Neuroergonomics: On the occasion of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Europe Chapter Annual …

In everyday road traffic, communication between road users plays an important role – especially in traffic situations where cooperation is necessary. In order to ensure successful future communication between human road users and autonomous vehicles, the communication between human road users must be better understood and modeled for automatic traffic. A relevant parameter in the analysis of cooperative scenarios is gaze behaviour. In contrast to e.g. mental workload, no specific parameters have been identified for analyzing cooperative scenarios so far. As a method, on a traffic-training-center, two experiments were conducted for cooperative situations implementing a narrow-passage (N=21) and a specific t-junction-scenario with three road users (N=20) to investigate cooperative behavior. In both experiments, the subjects were confronted with offensive or defensive approaching behaviours and the decision-making behaviour was investigated. Aim of the analysis was to identify relevant gaze parameters for cooperative scenarios. The results show that for different scenarios different parameters become relevant. For a complex scenario saccadic parameters are more important than fixation parameters. In contrast fixation-metrics show higher importance in simple scenarios.

Eye Tracking Glasses

Simulator

3 versions available

Visual attention failures during turns at intersections: An on-road study

Crash data indicate that misallocation of attention is a major source of vehicle crashes with vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists) at intersections. Video recordings from outside and inside the vehicle indicate that drivers allocate their attention based on their expectations but the extent that drivers fail to scan for vulnerable road users at intersections is not known. In this paper, we examine failures to check for vulnerable road users during right turns at intersections. Eye-tracking data was analyzed from 19 drivers between the ages of 35 and 54 who participated in an on-road instrumented vehicle study conducted in downtown Toronto. Each participant made two right turns from a major arterial road. In addition to attention allocation failures, we assessed whether the objective data was correlated with experience driving in the area as well as with drivers’ subjective responses about their intersection-related errors collected through the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). Eleven of the 19 participants had a failure in at least one of the intersections; all failures related to checking for cyclists. At a marginally significant level, attentional failures were more likely for those who drove more frequently in downtown Toronto and for those who had larger error scores on intersection-related questions of DBQ. The prevalence of attentional failures observed is alarming, especially given that our participants represented the lowest crash-risk age group. It appeared that drivers less familiar with an area were more cautious when it comes to negotiating an intersection. Additionally, drivers appeared to be aware of their intersection-related errors as indicated by their DBQ responses. Further research with an increased sample size and on a variety of intersections is needed to generalize these findings.

Eye Tracking Glasses

Simulator

2 versions available

Visual distraction effects between in-vehicle tasks with a smartphone and a motorcycle helmet-mounted head-up display

Besides motorists, also motorcyclists need safer user interfaces to interact with useful applications on the road. In this paper, distraction effects of in-vehicle tasks conducted with a head-up display (HUD) for motorcyclists were compared to smartphone tasks with 24 participants in a driving simulator. Compared to the smartphone tasks, the head-up display tasks decreased the percentage of inappropriately long glances by 45 percent. The head-up display tasks were also experienced as less demanding than the smartphone tasks. Additionally, the use of head-up display for navigation did not lead to gaze concentration effects compared to baseline driving. The head-up display is concluded to be a safer option for the tested tasks for motorcyclists than a smartphone. Based on earlier research, we assume that the use of peripheral vision allowed drivers to better maintain situational awareness during the head-up display tasks compared to the head-down smartphone tasks. In addition, the easy-to-learn haptic design of the head-up display handlebar controller could be used without vision.

Simulator

Software

2 versions available

Visual search strategies in badminton serve on expertise levels

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in visual search strategies between expert and novice badminton players while performing badminton serve. [Method] To this end, expert (more than 10 years experience) and novice (less than 6 months experience) badminton players performed 15 trials of two types of serve (i.e., short-serve and long-serve), in total 30 trials. All the participants’ eye movement was recorded during each trial, and mean fixation duration, fixation distribution, final fixation duration and location, and gaze entropy were analyzed. [Results] The results showed that there was no difference in mean fixation duration between expert and novice players. The analysis of mean fixation duration on each location showed that participants fixated more on the net while doing short serve whereas fixated more on the space when they did long serve. In particular, expert players fixated more on the space while doing long serve than novice players, and fixated more on the net and racquet for the short serve. However, novice players fixated more on the location of shuttle would be landed. The final fixation duration was not different between expert and novice players. Further, expert players showed higher gaze entropy than novice players. [Conclusions] The findings indicate that expert players fixated more on the net for the short serve, and the space for the long serve, and visual search strategies of experts were more varied than novice players.

Eye Tracking Glasses

Simulator

1 version available:

Visuomotor Coupling during Two-Handed Tasks: An Investigation of Bimanual and Intermanual Coordination

This study investigated previously observed differences in speed when completing a two-handed task using either the bimanual coordination mode (i.e., an individual completing a two-handed task) or the intermanual coordination mode (i.e., two people completing a two-handed task). When comparing these coordination modes, various research domains have reported an intermanual 'mode effect' of speed. Research suggests that the difference in performance may depend on fundamental characteristics of each coordination mode that facilitate or impede speed during two-handed tasks. To further investigate this intermanual speed advantage, a task was constructed to exploit a hypothesized bimanual limitation that may underlie this mode effect: bimanual visuomotor coupling. Results replicated the intermanual speed advantage and showed a higher degree of visuomotor coupling during bimanual performance. Subsequent analyses suggest that speed during two-handed tasks may be a function of visuomotor coupling, regardless of coordination mode.

Eye Tracking Glasses

Software

3 versions available

3D-FRC: Depiction of the future road course in the Head-Up-Display

The introduction of Head-Up-Displays (HUDs) have opened up avenues for a whole range of novel AR applications. However, until these applications become available for the mass market a number of problems need to be tackled. For example, the field of view (FoV) of current HUDs is extremely limited, and real world tracking and 3D reconstruction are still not precise enough to show driving information embedded into wide areas of complex traffic environment. It is not possible to show true AR-visualizations in the display areas provided by the current FoVs. In this paper, we investigate how an AR-like visualization approach in current HUDs (with a limited FoV) can support drivers in foreseeing the future road course. This visualisation uses the already established concept of an electronic horizon. By complying with automotive standards, our application can be easily adapted for series production. With this visualisation we performed a user study, investigating the effect on drivers' gaze behaviour. For this reason the test subjects were equipped with an eye tracking system. The results showed a decrease in both, the number of gazes as well as total glance time on the head unit and the instrument cluster. We also investigated the test subjects' braking behaviour around sharp bends of the road which showed an overall improvement when the visualisation was enabled. Furthermore it showed an increase of the mean glance duration in the area of the HUD. Note that the eye tracking system is not capable of distinguishing between glances at the visualisation in the HUD and the users' glance at objects behind the visualisation - overlapping with the HUD. This would require tracking the test persons' depth of focus. The study showed that developers need to be concerned about not displaying excessively in the HUD, so as not to distract drivers. It furthermore showed that AR-like visualizations have the potential to decrease the time the driver is not looking at the road creating a safer driving experience.

Eye Tracking Glasses

Software

2 versions available

A comparative evaluation of in-vehicle side view displays layouts in critical lane changing situation

This study conducted a driving simulator experiment to comparatively evaluate three in-vehicle side view displays layouts for camera monitor systems (CMS) and the traditional side view mirror arrangement. The three layouts placed two electronic side view displays near the traditional mirrors positions, on the dashboard at each side of the steering wheel and on the centre fascia with the two displays joined side-by-side, respectively. Twenty-two participants performed a time- and safety-critical driving task that required rapidly gaining situation awareness through the side view displays/mirrors and making a lane change to avoid collision. The dependent variables were eye-off-the-road time, response time, and, ratings of perceived workload, preference and perceived safety. Overall, the layout placing the side view displays on the dashboard at each side of the steering wheel was found to be the best. The results indicated that reducing eye gaze travel distance and maintaining compatibility were both important for the design of CMS displays layout.

Eye Tracking Glasses

Simulator

3 versions available

A markerless visual-motor tracking system for behavior monitoring in DCD assessment

Development coordination disorder (DCD) is a disorder of visual-motor integration in children, so the study on coordination of vision and motion is essential to understand the mechanism of DCD. The standardized assessments with certain visual-motor tasks are often used to detect impairments in eye-motion coordination, which is the most important component for diagnosis of DCD. However, these assessments emphasize on motor performance of children, while ignoring the detailed process of eye-motion coordination in performing these tasks. Therefore, it is a need to develop a proper digital visual-motor system to detect the eye movement and body motion simultaneously during these tasks, to study the mechanism of a typical eye-motion coordination. Currently, the eye-motion system is based on marker to detect the joints and gaze points for integration. This kind of system is very expensive and the markers may affect children's behavior in the task of DCD assessment. In this study, an integrated and markerless eye-motion system is developed to detect children's behavior in DCD assessment. In this system, a multi-Kinect system is used to monitor body motion and extract the skeletal joints. The gaze point is detected by a head-mount eye tracker and will be integrated into the system of body motion using image processing method. With the proposed system, the skeletal joints and gaze points can be obtained simultaneously for further digital DCD assessment.

Eye Tracking Glasses

Software

4 versions available

Publication Hub Archive

Using synchronized eye and motion tracking to determine high-precision eye-movement patterns during object-interaction tasks

Using visual cues to leverage the use of speech input in the vehicle

Varieties of interaction: from User Experience to Neuroergonomics: On the occasion of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Europe Chapter Annual …

Visual attention failures during turns at intersections: An on-road study

Visual distraction effects between in-vehicle tasks with a smartphone and a motorcycle helmet-mounted head-up display

Visual search strategies in badminton serve on expertise levels

Visuomotor Coupling during Two-Handed Tasks: An Investigation of Bimanual and Intermanual Coordination

3D-FRC: Depiction of the future road course in the Head-Up-Display

A comparative evaluation of in-vehicle side view displays layouts in critical lane changing situation

A markerless visual-motor tracking system for behavior monitoring in DCD assessment