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Gaze Gaming Tech Promises Faster Eye-Controlled Interaction

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Mon May 05, 2008 02:23 PM
from the i've-got-my-eye-on-you dept.
Input Devices Technology
NewScientist is reporting that further research is progressing on new types of user input devices. Specifically, "gaze gaming," a technology that promises faster interaction using only your eyes. Currently technology for sight-based interaction is far too slow for practical applications in things like gaming. "Eye-gaze systems bounce infrared light from LEDs at the bottom of a computer monitor and track a person's eye movements using stereo infrared cameras. This setup can calculate where on a screen the user is looking with an accuracy of about 5 mm."
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  • Imagine turning this technology into a mouse (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Smeagel (682550) on Monday May 05 2008, @02:30PM (#23303952)
    While your finger sits on a touch sensor (unmoving, relaxing) your eyes act as the mouse curser. You blink to click. Perfect interaction.
    • Blinking could be an issue, you're going to do that involuntarily. Maybe with an extra long blink, or specifically one eye for a click (Then you could get left and right clicks) you don't generally close one eye involuntarily.

      I was thinking a contact lens with an inlaid tracker could improve the accuracy.

      I already have suspicions that sitting in my cubical in front of my good old CRTs and other equipment is already unhealthy enough, wouldn't want to add more EMR in my face on top of that. Although I know there's nothing inherently unhealthy with IR EMR...
    • Yeah, except that blinking is autonomic. You would have to conscientiously refrain from blinking to avoid clicking.
    • Can you blink faster than you can click a mouse button?

      I'm not sure I can right now, but then I haven't exactly been practicing using my blinking techniques as much as I have been using my hands.
      If this technology really is more than some vapourware, I can see it finally making console FPS's rival PC FPS's. I mean, the biggest reason why the mouse is better for controlling those games is precision and speed, but if you could simply look at your enemy to target them, you'd be just as fast. Then all you need

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by ivan256 (17499)
      Now they just need to get it down to .5mm resolution...

      In other words, it needs at least a 10x improvement to be a mouse replacement with current UIs.
      • I don't know +-2mm seems more than sufficient for almost everything. There are a few things which it might not work perfectly for, but keep in mind even if it was a little off you'd still see a mouse cursor and be able to adjust its error. So I'd say a 5x improvement might be all that's necessary ;)
      • that was my first thought too. 5mm is huge.

        just for fun on my 800x600 screen the default windows taskbar buttons are 6mm high. The slashdot submit button is 5x16mm It might be accurate enough, though down to a 1 or 2 mm range would be necessary to start out with.

      • Re:Imagine turning this technology into a mouse (Score:5, Informative)

        by pherthyl (445706) on Monday May 05 2008, @03:29PM (#23304532)
        Well I work on these kinds of systems, and that 5mm is not a limitation of the system, it's a limitation of the eyes.

        The fovea (dense area of rods and cones) in the retina is large enough to give you approximately a 1 deg cone of "focus". Which means depending on the distance, you can focus on an area of a given size on the screen. So even with a perfect eye tracker, you cannot pinpoint gaze location exactly just by measuring eye orientation. Accuracy depends on distance from the screen, but 5mm is in the ballpark for what you can achieve (and that is with a perfectly calibrated system, real accuracy will be worse).
        • I can't help thinking that using gaze tracking as a primary cursor is (with the exception of physically disabled users who *can't* use a traditional pointing device) somewhat missing the main potential.

          Gaze tracking seems to me to be perfect for a secondary 'information' cursor. Wonder what the date is? Look at the clock on your taskbar and the calendar will pop up. Curious what guild that undead priest over there is in? Simply looking will give you some transparent overlay text detailing guild, current health/mana, and what spell he's casting. Cast your eyes to a person's name on your IM list and it'll tell you when they were last at their computer and what their status message is.

          Another interesting thing I remember reading about was using eye tracking for security. The whole screen is a ramble of random characters, except the precise area of interest being focussed on, which is unscrambled. The viewer's brain assembles what they see into an unscrambled screen, and any onlooker just sees junk.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by dreamchaser (49529)
      Human's eyes dart around way too much for that to really be workable IMO. As an adjunct to a mouse for fast targeting it might have gaming and military applications though.

      • Re:Imagine turning this technology into a mouse (Score:5, Informative)

        by StarfishOne (756076) on Monday May 05 2008, @03:12PM (#23304362)

        Darting eyes indeed!

        Why oh why do I have to think about a situation I was in a few years ago.

        I was taking driving lessons together with a friend of me. I was sitting in the backseat when the driving instructor was explaining how it was very important to look ahead, but also that _you will tend to go wherever you are looking_.

        And as if to emphasize the importance of this, our sometimes playful Universe introduced a few seconds later this synchronicity in the form of one of the most stunning blonde girls we have ever seen.. (oh those legs!)... my friend almost hit the sidewalk and I can still hear our driving instructor saying: "SEE!? That's what I mean! Keep your eyes on the road"

        It was such a brilliant moment. :D

        • Not to mention that the idea in the post I replied to that blinking the eyes would click the mouse would be rather unworkable as well, since we can't always control when we blink. If you need to use some 'hand on a button' to enable 'blink to click' then it defeats the purpose and you might as well just use the button to click.
    • People have posted a few good arguments against using your eyes as the mouse cursor. The biggest one for me is that I don't always want to be looking at the thing I am clicking.

      Just as I don't want to look at the keyboard while I'm typing, or sometimes even at the screen (say, looking at some notes on my desk) I don't always want the mouse cursor where I'm looking.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by ParaShoot (992496)
        I doubt RSEye (to coin a term) would be a problem, given that your eyes are constantly in use in everyday life, and very much used to moving small distances repeatedly. Chances are that your eyes are following your mouse cursor anyway, so the net increase in eye movement is zero, with the added bonus of avoiding repetitive mouse clicks.

        Eyes are designed for frequent, small movements. Fingers aren't.

  • Retinal image (Score:3, Interesting)

    by FrankSchwab (675585) on Monday May 05 2008, @02:32PM (#23303964) Journal
    I always wondered if you could do more precise gaze detection by looking at a person's retina. Could you detect where they were looking on the screen precisely enough to eliminate the need for a mouse cursor (say, within one character space)? How large is the area of sharpest vision? /frank

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by MuValas (91840)
      The problem is what a person is cognitively focused on isn't necessarily what they are visually focused on. We've worked on vision-tracking systems for a long time, and this basic fact stymies most uses of the technology. We have had numerous devices that bounce various types of light off the retina for tracking, and people that use it complain that sometimes what they are focused on, and what their retina is apparently focused on, is different.

  • Sounds like the Great Equalizer... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by amplt1337 (707922) on Monday May 05 2008, @02:32PM (#23303966) Journal
    at least for FPS.

    Otherwise, mostly a Gee Whiz! tech, though I suppose it could have useful applications for the disabled. But I wonder if we won't see wrist-based Repetitive Motion problems transferred to increased eyestrain...
    • No. With blink controls, the great equalizer will be mace.
    • Forget "the great equalizer". With my lazy eye I'll be staring up at the heavens spinning in circles all game long ... that is all game until my head gets blown off repeatedly.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by speroni (1258316)
        I imagine you would have to build in a calibration feature. Everyone's facial structure and eye placement and such are all slightly different. When you install the hardware, you'd get click this X over here, and that X over there, adjust your sensitivity etc... and if done properly it could compensate for quite a bit of variation.

  • I hope this is not only for games (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Simon (S2) (600188) on Monday May 05 2008, @02:34PM (#23303978) Homepage
    It would be really useful to be able to move the cursor only by looking at the point on the sceen I want it to be. That could save my wrist from carpal tunnel syndrome and it could also incement my productivity by making the pointer go quicker to where I want it to be. I hope it will have pixel accuracy, but even if it does not, I am sure, time a few years, it could become the perfect input device.
    • Sitting up straight and doing some core exercises prevent repetitive strain injuries to your wrists too. Best part? They're free and you don't need to wait for the technology to be developed.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by PatboyX (968493)
      Maybe the problem is that we are thinking of using this new tech for existing and somewhat limited metaphors for a workspace. If we start with this as an input method, maybe we would create a workstation that would address the above issues such as wanting to be able to interact with something I am not focusing on, accidental blinks, etc. So...yeah, start working on that.
  • blink enough when I play games. This could only make things worse

  • So... this means... (Score:5, Funny)

    by i kan reed (749298) on Monday May 05 2008, @02:43PM (#23304064)
    This means Nintendo's next generation of console will be called the sii?

  • Ok, I only see one issue (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Aranykai (1053846) <slgonserNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Monday May 05 2008, @02:52PM (#23304156)
    There is going to have to be a very accurate system of "disabling tracking". I mean, take the FPS example. How often am I going to be spinning around when I glance down for a quick ammo count?

    Or, if you look up to check your HP/MP in an MMO, will you be randomly changing targets, or worse, disengaging them to move?

    Its an interesting idea, definitely useful for somethings, but it shouldn't ever take the place of a mechanical pointing device like a mouse or trackball.

  • What about four eyes (Score:3, Interesting)

    by icebike (68054) on Monday May 05 2008, @02:53PM (#23304168)
    Some of us need glasses just to see up to the screen. How will this work with an additional semi-reflective layer interspersed?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by pherthyl (445706)
      It will definitely interfere. Depending on the glasses (reflectivity and material of the frames), the environment (ambient light, glare), and the system, you will get different results. I have some experience with a $40000 eye tracker from Tobii (they're pretty much top of the line trackers) and it still has issues with glasses.

  • Selective Rendering (Score:4, Interesting)

    by jannone (1145713) on Monday May 05 2008, @02:54PM (#23304182)
    For single-player games, this device could possibly enable some sort of selective rendering technique, where the objects sitting at the focal point are rendered in much more detail than the periphery.

    • Re:Selective Rendering (Score:5, Interesting)

      by pherthyl (445706) on Monday May 05 2008, @03:36PM (#23304600)
      Yes, this has been done and works quite well (the user doesn't notice any difference). The problem is in the reaction time that is necessary. The last study I read found that the high detail rendering must be performed within 5ms of a fixation to make the experience seamless to the user. That's a problem for most applications, as they won't be able to react that quickly.
  • In Soviet Russia, TV watches you!
  • FTA:

    Technology is being developed to allow people with severe motor disabilities to play 3D computer games like World of Warcraft using only their eyes.
    So WoW players whose bodies atrophy from lack of getting up doing things in the real world would through this system be able to continue playing?
  • While I can see (no pun intended) good possibilities for games, it may cause a few problems if it were implemented in a desktop environment (as a few here are suggesting). I know at the moment, with the firefox tab-mix plus "hover the mouse over the tab to select it" feature that while it is useful, it can also be annoying if I don't park the mouse properly, as I can suddenly switch tab when doing something else. I could envisage the same problems with this. Unless it was easily deactivated a stray glanc
  • Now we can farther yet remove gaming from pesky physical activity. It's no longer even a matter of good hand/eye coordination: just good eye coordination.

  • Shifty eyes (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Rob T Firefly (844560) on Monday May 05 2008, @03:07PM (#23304314) Homepage Journal
    This seems like a good idea in theory, but in reality we rarely keep our eyes fixed on any point with all that much precision. Our eyes are always shifting around to get a bigger picture of things most of the time, even when we're trying to hold a steady gaze on something. Trying to precisely control a game, or anything else, with one's eyes seems to me like much more trouble than it's worth.

    • Re:Shifty eyes (Score:4, Informative)

      by pz (113803) on Monday May 05 2008, @06:00PM (#23305954) Journal
      Have you tried? Sounds like maybe you have not.

      I have. I'm a visual neuroscientist and my research involves accurate measurement of eye position. I also own a relatively high-end SLR camera that senses eye position to control focus (this is not a coincidence). Humans have exquisite control over their eyes. With a good low-latency mechanism to read gaze position, system control (camera, computer, whatever) becomes incredibly quick, efficient, and fluid. The only problem is that you do NOT want the cursor to always track your eye position, you need a switch: sometimes you want the cursor where you are looking, sometimes you want to leave the cursor in place and look around. But this switch is no more than the equivalent of a mouse button, a shift key on a keyboard, or a foot switch. All work, although I prefer the keyboard approach.
  • Look at area,
    say "click"
    or
    say "nudge [right|left|up|down|north|northwest|west|..." , then say "click|pow|go|do it".

  • As long as no lady's chests in image (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Maxo-Texas (864189) on Monday May 05 2008, @03:22PM (#23304460)
    I remember the pepsi commercials back in the late 70's/early 80's.
    They tracked where guys were looking and it was not at the product.
    In fact, they frequently didn't remember the product.
    Very popular commercial of a girl exiting the water in a little suit holding a can of pepsi.

  • *Excessive cursor movement detected. Add selected*

    Sore eyes from too much Gaze Gaming cursor control? Buy Visine!

  • just like STNG.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Tominva1045 (587712) on Monday May 05 2008, @03:36PM (#23304592)
    Dude, this is exactly how they almost took over the Enterprise that one time when Wesely came home from the Academy on vacation. I wouldn't trust it.

  • Why should it be used as a pointing device? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Brandano (1192819) on Monday May 05 2008, @04:30PM (#23305176)
    Imagine using this feature to render highly detailed 3D images only where the user is actually looking. The peripheral vision is almost useless, the actual area that does most of the seeing is in the center of the retina. The brain fills in the blanks and keeps a mental image of what you are seeing that gets updated through rpid eye movement. With a smart setup this could be translated in a huge screen that appears to have a large resolution in every direction while keeping the processing power requirements still accessible. The mouse is a great interface, I don't see any reason to replace that just yet.

  • Looks still can't kill .. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Ihlosi (895663) on Tuesday May 06 2008, @04:30AM (#23309806)
    ... but soon, they can frag.
    • Imagine this:
      When you focus on something, more info about it slowly appears.

      Either it becomes more detailed then the suroundings, or details like health, stamina, or whatever.

      It could be quite impressive.

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