Gaze estimation and analysis of visual scanning patterns with mobile devices

这个项目的目标是开发方法来测量眼睛的位置在移动的手机和应用这种能力来评估认知功能。目前，测量眼睛位置的系统（眼睛跟踪器）被用于各种领域（人机界面、训练、心理学、神经学等）。由专家小组使用专门设备进行。通过与一家大型手机制造商合作，该项目的成功将意味着高质量的眼动跟踪将可用于通用的、广泛使用的手机设备。为了开发高质量的手机眼动追踪系统，人们必须克服重大的技术挑战。第一个是与估计眼睛特征的方法和算法的开发（例如，瞳孔的中心）。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所施加的机械、光学和功率限制。第二个挑战是，与先前的工作不同，远程眼动仪是固定的，该项目中的眼动仪可以相对于受试者自由移动。使用我们的台式眼动追踪系统，我们已经开发了以下测试：a）评估损伤的影响和脑震荡恢复的预后，以及B）轻度认知障碍患者转化为阿尔茨海默病患者的概率。如果这种测试可以在受伤部位或受试者家中进行，则将提高测试的功效和益处。成功开发用于移动的平台的眼动跟踪系统将使广泛的眼动跟踪应用程序的适应和开发成为可能，从而使公众受益匪浅。

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.