Development of a Tourist Information Search Support System that Reflects Interests Based on User's Gaze

Abstract

In 2014, Tobii Tech and Eye Tribe released the first inexpensive non-contact eye tracking device, and eye tracking technology has been attracting more and more attention. It has long been said that gaze information can be used to infer a person's interests and attention, and the analysis of gaze position by eye tracking technology is also used for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In addition, with the spread of information and communication technology, the Internet has become the most used media for "obtaining information on hobbies and entertainment," surpassing books, magazines, and television for all age groups except those in their 60s in Japan, The majority of information gathering has shifted to web browsing. As a result, the information gap between those who can use the Internet to collect information and those who cannot use it well, so-called digital divide, has become one of the social problems. Based on these background, we attempted to develop an interaction system that presents search keyword to get related information by using the user's eyes while browsing the web. Based on analysis of user's gaze and accumulation of web pages viewed by each user, this system can provide search keywords that reflect a user's interest, such as Tourism information or history information. We believe that this system can support users' web browsing by assisting them in gathering information on sightseeing and travel, presenting them with unexpected facilities that they did not know about, and making it easy for them to obtain a variety of related information.