Gaze estimation and analysis of visual scanning patterns with mobile devices

这个项目的目标是开发在手机上测量眼睛位置的方法，并应用这种能力来评估认知功能。目前，测量眼睛位置的系统（眼动仪）被用于各种领域（人机界面，培训，心理学，神经学等），由专家小组使用专门的设备。通过与一家主要的手机制造商合作，这个项目的成功将意味着高质量的眼动追踪将在通用的、广泛使用的手机设备上实现。****为手机开发高质量的眼球追踪系统，必须克服重大的技术挑战。第一个与从手机前置摄像头获取的视频图像中估计眼睛特征（例如瞳孔中心）的方法和算法的发展有关。尽管我们已经成功地为桌面系统开发了这样的方法，但新方法必须考虑到手机平台施加的机械、光学和功率限制。第二个挑战是，与之前的工作不同，远程眼动仪是固定的，这个项目中的眼动仪可以相对于受试者自由移动。****使用我们的桌面眼动追踪系统，我们开发了测试：a)评估损伤的影响和脑震荡恢复的预后，b)轻度认知受损的患者转变为阿尔茨海默病患者的可能性。如果这种测试可以在受伤部位或受试者家中进行，将提高测试的效果和效益。眼球追踪系统在移动平台上的成功开发将使眼球追踪应用的适应和发展成为可能，这将极大地造福大众。****

The goals of this project are to develop methods to measure eye position on a mobile phone and to apply this capability to assess cognitive functions. Currently, systems that measure eye position (eye-trackers) are used in a variety of fields (man-machine interfaces, training, psychology, neurology, etc.) by groups of specialists with access to specialized equipment. By cooperating with a major manufacturer of cell phones, the success of this project will mean that high-quality eye tracking will be available on general-purpose, widely available cell-phone devices. ****To develop high quality eye-tracking systems for cell-phones, one has to overcome significant technical challenges. The first is associated with the development of methods and algorithms to estimate eye-features (e.g., the centre of the pupil) in video images from the cell-phone's front facing camera. Even though we have successfully developed such methods for desk-top systems, the new methods will have to take into account the mechanical, optical and power constraints that are imposed by the cell-phone platforms. The second challenge is that, unlike prior work in which the remote eye-tracker was stationary the eye tracker in this project is free to move relative to the subject. ****Using our desk-top eye-tracking systems we have developed tests to: a) evaluate the effects of injury and the prognosis of recovery from concussion, and b) the probability that mildly cognitively impaired patients will convert to Alzheimer's disease patients. If such tests can be carried out at the site of injury or at the subject's home it will improve the efficacy and benefits of the tests. Successful development of eye-tracking systems for mobile platforms will enable the adaptation and development of a wide range of eye-tracking applications that can significantly benefit the general public.****