Tobii Pro Glasses Research Articles

Research on intervention methods for children’s street-crossing behaviour: Application and expansion of the theory of “behaviour spectrums”

Due to immaturity in their physical and cognitive development, children are particularly vulnerable to road traffic injuries as pedestrians. Child pedestrian injury primarily occurs in urban areas, with a significant share at crosswalks.The aim of this study is to explore whether an intervention programme based on the theory of “behaviour spectrums” can improve the street-crossing skills of primary school children. Children were recruited near a local primary school through invitation letters and were randomly divided into two groups: a control group (n = 10, no intervention) and an experimental group (n = 10, intervention). The children in the experimental group received 30−45 min of training. The child participants were asked to wear an eye tracker and performed a crossing test in a real-world street environment; in this test, they were required to successively pass through an unsignalised intersection, an unsignalised T-intersection and a signalised intersection on a designated test route. A high-definition camera was used to record the children’s crossing behaviour, and the Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye tracker was used to derive indicators of the children’s visual behaviour in the areas of interest (AOIs) in the street. The evaluation was conducted on children’s crossing behaviour in the control group (which received no intervention) and the experimental group (tested at two time points after the intervention: children tested immediately after the intervention and children retested one month after the intervention).The results showed that compared with the control group, the children in the experimental group no longer focused on the small area around the body (e.g., the zebra crossing area) and the area in front of the eyes (e.g., the sidewalk area), which increased their visual attention to the traffic areas on the left and right sides of the zebra crossing; thus, unsafe crossing behaviour was reduced in the experimental group. Compared with the experimental group immediately after the intervention, the intervention effect on some indicators showed a significant weakening trend in the retest of the experimental group one month later. Overall, the results show that an intervention programme based on the theory of “behaviour spectrums” can improve children’s crossing skills. This study provides valuable information for the development and evaluation of intervention programmes to improve children’s street-crossing skills.

How do pedestrians distribute their visual attention when walking through a parking garage? An eye-tracking study

We examined what pedestrians look at when walking through a parking garage. Thirty-six participants walked a short route in a parking garage while their eye movements and head rotations were recorded with a Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye-tracker. The participants’ fixations were then classified into 14 areas of interest. The results showed that pedestrians often looked at the back (20.0%), side (7.5%), and front (4.2%) of parked cars, and at approaching cars (8.8%). Much attention was also paid to the ground (20.1%). The wheels of cars (6.8%) and the driver in approaching cars (3.2%) received attention as well. In conclusion, this study showed that eye movements are largely functional in the sense that they appear to assist in safe navigation through the parking garage. Pedestrians look at a variety of sides and features of the car, suggesting that displays on future automated cars should be omnidirectionally visible. Practitioner summary: This study measured where pedestrians look when walking through a parking garage. It was found that the back, side, and wheels of cars attract considerable attention. This knowledge may be important for the development of automated cars that feature so-called external human-machine interfaces (eHMIs).

Novice and Expert Anesthesiologists' Eye-Tracking Metrics During Simulated Epidural Block: A Preliminary, Brief Observational Report.

IntroductionEye tracking is the process of measuring an individual’s eye movements to register their attentional behavior by using a device called an eye-tracker. Studies conducted using eye-tracking techniques have demonstrated a number of differences in eye movement parameters and patterns between experts and novices. The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate if there are any differences in eye-tracking metrics between novice and expert anesthesiologists during the performance of an epidural block using an epidural simulator.MethodsSeven experts and seven novices who gave their consent to this preliminary study were asked to perform an epidural technique using an epidural simulator while wearing a pair of Tobii Pro glasses. Number of fixations, fixation duration, heat maps and scan-paths were examined by Tobii Pro Lab Software. Duration of the procedure was also recorded.ResultsThe observation of the attentional heat map and gaze plot showed different gaze dispersion between experts and novices. The mean total duration of fixations during needle insertion and advancement and catheter introduction was lower in experts than trainees (respectively, 0.18 vs 3.56 sec; P<0.05 and 0.73 vs 2.48 sec; P<0.05). The mean fixation count was greater in experts vs trainees (5 vs 2; P<0.05). The mean duration of the epidural procedure was 104.16 (41) (trainees) vs 65.3 (32.6) seconds (experts) (P<0.05). Expert anesthesiologists spent more time fixating a more specific target location (eg, the point of the epidural needle rather than the syringe’s barrel) whilst novices split their attention between tracking their tools and the target location.DiscussionEye tracking may have interesting implications for the creation of assessment programs, which distinguish skill level through the use of gaze behavior, and may be a promising tool for monitoring training progress towards the development of expertise.

A team leader's gaze before and after making requests in emergency care simulation: a case study with eye-tracking glasses.

The advanced technology of eye-tracking enables us to analyse healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) gaze behaviours. Gaze analysis has great potential to capture HCPs’ non-technical skills, especially situational awareness (SA).1 The SA framework has three levels. Level 1 involves perceiving an event, level 2 understanding what is being perceived importantly and level 3 being able to make predictions. How to analyse HCPs’ utterances and gaze in an integrative manner may provide insights into higher-order cognitive skills such as level 3 SA. This study aims to establish a method to describe HCPs’ gaze and utterances in emergency care interactions, focusing on a leader’s gaze at team members’ faces and bodies when making requests. One simulated training session (about 16 min) was analysed, applying a multimodal corpus approach. The recording took place in the resuscitation area at Yokohama City University Medical Center. The team comprised a senior consultant as a team leader (Leader) with an eye-tracker, Tobii Pro Glasses 2, another two doctors (a senior doctor (SD) and a junior doctor (JD)), a foundation doctor and two nurses, and a simulated patient (male, …

Mobile and stationary eye tracking comparison – package design and in-store results

PurposeThis paper aims to test the similarity of the results of on-screen eye tracking compared to mobile eye tracking in the context of first fixation location on stimuli.Design/methodology/approachThree studies were conducted altogether with 117 participants, where the authors compared both methods: stationary eye tracking (Tobii Pro X2-60) and mobile eye tracking (Tobii Pro Glasses 2).FindingsThe studies revealed that the reported average first fixation locations from stationary and mobile eye tracking are different. Stationary eye tracking is more affected by a centre fixation bias. Based on the research, it can be concluded that stationary eye tracking is not always suitable for studying consumer perception and behaviour because of the centre viewing bias.Research limitations/implicationsWhen interpreting the results, researchers should take into account that stationary eye tracking results are affected by a centre fixation bias. Previous stationary eye tracking research should be interpreted with the centre fixation bias in mind. Some of this previous work should be retested using mobile eye tracking. If possible small-scale pilot studies should be included in papers to show that the more appropriate method, less affected by attention biases, was chosen.Practical implicationsManagers should trust research where the ability of package design to attract attention on a shelf is tested using mobile eye tracking. The authors suggest using mobile eye tracking to optimise store shelf planograms, point-of-purchase materials, and shelf layouts. In package design, interpretations of research using stationary eye tracking should consider its centre fixation bias. Managers should also be cautious when interpreting previous stationary eye tracking research (both applied and scientific), knowing that stationary eye tracking is more prone to a centre fixation bias.Originality/valueWhile eye tracking research has become more and more popular as a marketing research method, the limitations of the method have not been fully understood by the field. This paper shows that the chosen eye tracking method can influence the results. No such comparative paper about mobile and stationary eye tracking research has been done in the marketing field.

GlassesViewer: Open-source software for viewing and analyzing data from the Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye tracker

We present GlassesViewer, open-source software for viewing and analyzing eye-tracking data of the Tobii Pro Glasses 2 head-mounted eye tracker as well as the scene and eye videos and other data streams (pupil size, gyroscope, accelerometer, and TTL input) that this headset can record. The software provides the following functionality written in MATLAB: (1) a graphical interface for navigating the study- and recording structure produced by the Tobii Glasses 2; (2) functionality to unpack, parse, and synchronize the various data and video streams comprising a Glasses 2 recording; and (3) a graphical interface for viewing the Glasses 2’s gaze direction, pupil size, gyroscope and accelerometer time-series data, along with the recorded scene and eye camera videos. In this latter interface, segments of data can furthermore be labeled through user-provided event classification algorithms or by means of manual annotation. Lastly, the toolbox provides integration with the GazeCode tool by Benjamins et al. (2018), enabling a completely open-source workflow for analyzing Tobii Pro Glasses 2 recordings.

The impact of slippage on the data quality of head-worn eye trackers

Mobile head-worn eye trackers allow researchers to record eye-movement data as participants freely move around and interact with their surroundings. However, participant behavior may cause the eye tracker to slip on the participant’s head, potentially strongly affecting data quality. To investigate how this eye-tracker slippage affects data quality, we designed experiments in which participants mimic behaviors that can cause a mobile eye tracker to move. Specifically, we investigated data quality when participants speak, make facial expressions, and move the eye tracker. Four head-worn eye-tracking setups were used: (i) Tobii Pro Glasses 2 in 50 Hz mode, (ii) SMI Eye Tracking Glasses 2.0 60 Hz, (iii) Pupil-Labs’ Pupil in 3D mode, and (iv) Pupil-Labs’ Pupil with the Grip gaze estimation algorithm as implemented in the EyeRecToo software. Our results show that whereas gaze estimates of the Tobii and Grip remained stable when the eye tracker moved, the other systems exhibited significant errors (0.8–3.1∘ increase in gaze deviation over baseline) even for the small amounts of glasses movement that occurred during the speech and facial expressions tasks. We conclude that some of the tested eye-tracking setups may not be suitable for investigating gaze behavior when high accuracy is required, such as during face-to-face interaction scenarios. We recommend that users of mobile head-worn eye trackers perform similar tests with their setups to become aware of its characteristics. This will enable researchers to design experiments that are robust to the limitations of their particular eye-tracking setup.

Dialogue through the eyes: Exploring teachers’ focus of attention during educational dialogue

This study explored teachers’ focus of attention during educational dialogue. Teachers’ focus of attention was recorded in 54 Grade 1 classrooms using Tobii Pro Glasses 2 mobile eye-tracking device. From the video recordings, episodes of educational dialogue were identified and categorised by quality. Teacher’s focus of attention on students was examined during the dialogue episodes. Results showed that teachers allocated their attention relatively unevenly among the students. More students got visual attention during high-quality educational dialogue than during moderate-quality dialogue. This study provides insight into the quality of educational dialogue by combining assessment of the verbal dialogue with observations of the non-verbal focus of teacher’s attention in classroom.

Changes in Gaze Behavior during the Learning of the Epidural Technique with a Simulator in Anesthesia Novices

Background: Current literature demonstrates the ability of eye tracking to provide reliable quantitative data as an objective assessment tool, with potential applications to medical and surgical training to improve performance. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in gaze behavior in anesthesia novice trainees when performing a simulated epidural technique before and after a hands-on training on the epidural simulator. Methods: We enrolled 48 novice trainees who had never previously performed an epidural block. After a standardized learning module, each trainee practiced the epidural procedure on the epidural simulator while wearing a pair of eye tracking glasses (Tobii Pro Glasses 50 Hz wearable wireless eye tracker). After this baseline recording, each trainee spent two hours practicing with the epidural simulator and afterwards once again performed the eye tracking epidural procedure. Eye tracking metrics and epidural learning (duration of the procedure and number of attempts) before and after the simulated practice were recorded. Results: The duration of the epidural procedure and of the epidural needle advancement phase (P 0.05) and the number of epidural attempts (P 0.001) were reduced after the tutorial. When considering the eye tracking metrics, after the tutorial, the number of visit counts decreased and their duration increased (P 0.05). The number of epidural needle insertions (additional attempts) showed a significant positive correlation with the visits number (aOR = 2.02 (95% CI = 1.26 - 3.55; P = 0.008)) and a significant negative correlation with the visit duration (aOR = 0.65 (95% CI = 0.39 - 0.99; P = 0.05)). Conclusion: We observed significant changes in gaze behavior associated with increased performance during the epidural technique learning with a simulator in anesthesia trainees who had never previously performed an epidural block. These results may create a prototype for future studies on eye tracking technique as a teaching and evaluating tool in simulation.

SCANNING FOR CRITICAL EVENTS DURING DRIVING: VISUAL SCANNING USING EYE TRACKING TECHNOLOGY ON A DRIVING SIMULATOR

This study explored age differences and scanning strategies for critical events using a driving simulator with eye-tracking technology. One critical skill in driving is to efficiently scan the environment. Ten young(M=26y) and 10 old(M=65y) healthy adults drove a wearing Tobii-Pro Glasses. The software analyzes areas of interest (AOI) for “percent time of fixation” as well as illustrative “heat maps” of duration of fixation. At a four-way-stop, the young fixated at the road ahead (25% fixation time), dashboard (29%), more often than left/right of their car (15%). The old fixed on the road ahead (21%) but spent more time outside the car (23%). At the hidden sign, older drivers fixated on the environment outside the road ahead more than younger drivers (26% versus 20%), but both had increased fixation to the right side of the vehicle (Y-23%, O-24%) with this event, likely looking for the sign. Heat maps of the hidden sign illustrate this, suggesting older drivers may more efficiently scan their environment. Other possibilities include the young trusting the simulator, young/old scan differently, or interference of previous simulator experience. Simulator outcomes showed age differences on gas-pedal-reaction times suggesting that older adults are more cautious, slowing down faster with critical events. Limitations include small sample and limited studies have used eye-tracking technology in driving. This study raises interesting questions, especially for medically-at-risk drivers with visual impairments. Using the eye-tracking may enhance targeting specific strategies for a variety of impairments as well as establishing a baseline of typical drivers’ visual scanning habits.

Improved Accuracy Test Method for Mobile Eye Tracking in Usability Scenarios

Eye tracking has been used in usability testing for many years to gain objective measurements to inform label, instruction, and product design. With many different testing environments, possible participants, hardware, and software, key metrics can vary greatly. These metrics can also vary for different studies, so a standardized test method, metrics, and calculation method are proposed in this study. The Tobii Pro Glasses 2 is a mobile eye tracker that does not significantly affect user mobility compared to other eye-trackers. This study aims to build a testing method, which can modify to better fit the varying conditions found in usability testing. This study was performed with Tobii Pro Glasses 2; however, this test method can be used with any mobile eye tracking units. Even with poor testing conditions, this test method results in reliable metrics which can be utilized to inform expectation and decisions with eye tracking. These methods are recommended to be performed prior to eye tracking testing to determine testing-specific performance.

The value of eye-tracking technology in the analysis and interpretations of skeletal remains: A pilot study

This initial study is the first to use eye-trackers as a tool in order to study gaze pattern strategies and decision making processes involved in the assessment of skeletal remains. Three experienced participants were asked to wear eye-tracking glasses (Tobii Pro Glasses 2) when estimating sex and age-at-death of one set of skeletal remains from a known archeological sample. The study assessed participants' fixation points (the features of the skeleton focused on), fixation duration (the total time spent on each assessment and feature) as well as visit count and duration (the total number of visits and the duration of visits to particular areas). The preliminary results of this study identified differences in gaze “strategies” with regards to fixation points, visit duration, and visit counts between the participants. The data generated provide a starting point for assessing how such technologies could be used in order to more fully understand the decision making processes involved in forensic anthropological interpretations and their role in forensic reconstructions.

Using objective robotic automated performance metrics and task-evoked pupillary response to distinguish surgeon expertise.

In this study, we investigate the ability of automated performance metrics (APMs) and task-evoked pupillary response (TEPR), as objective measures of surgeon performance, to distinguish varying levels of surgeon expertise during generic robotic surgical tasks. Additionally, we evaluate the association between APMs and TEPR. Participants completed ten tasks on a da Vinci Xi Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.), each representing a surgical skill type: EndoWrist® manipulation, needle targeting, suturing/knot tying, and excision/dissection. Automated performance metrics (instrument motion tracking, EndoWrist® articulation, and system events data) and TEPR were recorded by a systems data recorder (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.) and Tobii Pro Glasses 2 (Tobii Technologies, Inc.), respectively. The Kruskal-Wallis test determined significant differences between groups of varying expertise. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient measured associations between APMs and TEPR. Twenty-six participants were stratified by robotic surgical experience: novice (no prior experience; n = 9), intermediate (< 100 cases; n = 9), and experts (≥ 100 cases; n = 8). Several APMs differentiated surgeon experience including task duration (p < 0.01), time active of instruments (p < 0.03), linear velocity of instruments (p < 0.04), and angular velocity of dominant instrument (p < 0.04). Task-evoked pupillary response distinguished surgeon expertise for three out of four task types (p < 0.04). Correlation trends between APMs and TEPR revealed that expert surgeons move more slowly with high cognitive workload (ρ < - 0.60, p < 0.05), while novices move faster under the same cognitive experiences (ρ > 0.66, p < 0.05). Automated performance metrics and TEPR can distinguish surgeon expertise levels during robotic surgical tasks. Furthermore, under high cognitive workload, there can be a divergence in robotic movement profiles between expertise levels.

Validation of a velocity-based algorithm to quantify saccades during walking and turning in mild traumatic brain injury and healthy controls

Objective: Saccadic (fast) eye movements are a routine aspect of neurological examination and are a potential biomarker of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Objective measurement of saccades has become a prominent focus of mTBI research, as eye movements may be a useful assessment tool for deficits in neural structures or processes. However, saccadic measurement within mobile infra-red (IR) eye-tracker raw data requires a valid algorithm. The objective of this study was to validate a velocity-based algorithm for saccade detection in IR eye-tracking raw data during walking (straight ahead and while turning) in people with mTBI and healthy controls. Approach: Eye-tracking via a mobile IR Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye-tracker (100 Hz) was performed in people with mTBI (n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 10). Participants completed two walking tasks: straight walking (walking back and forth for 1 min over a 10 m distance), and walking and turning (turns course included 45°, 90° and 135° turns). Five trials per subject, for one-hundred total trials, were completed. A previously reported velocity-based saccade detection algorithm was adapted and validated by assessing agreement between algorithm saccade detections and the number of correct saccade detections determined from manual video inspection (ground truth reference). Main results: Compared with video inspection, the IR algorithm detected ~97% (n = 4888) and ~95% (n = 3699) of saccades made by people with mTBI and controls, respectively, with excellent agreement to the ground truth (intra-class correlation coefficient2,1 = .979 to .999). Significance: This study provides a simple yet highly robust algorithm for the processing of mobile eye-tracker raw data in mTBI and controls. Future studies may consider validating this algorithm with other IR eye-trackers and populations.

Study of Factors Affecting Medical Incident: 2 Powdered Medication Dispensing

Medical incidents have been collected, analyzed and built up preventive measures by each medical institution for a long time. For powdered medication, there is the problem that it is difficult to tell at a glance the quantity of the active ingredient in the medication that has been dispensed and the quantities that have been mixed together. Therefore, special prevention measures are considered essential. In this study, we examined the work content of pharmacists’ powdered medication dispensing, using an eye-tracking technology of measuring a human eye movement, and studied on factors that affect medical incident. Participants were five pharmacists with 8 to 26 years of working experience (expert), and five pharmacists with less than one year of working experience (newcomer). Gaze measurement experiments were implemented for powdered medication dispensing during regular work activity. The gaze measurement equipment used was Tobii Pro Glasses 2. Based on the results of the eye tracking, newcomer had a longer dispensing time than expert for all powdered medication dispensing. In particular, it was suggested that there is a close relationship to “years of experience” and “weighing and mixing skills.” Experts did unwasted and efficient movements, when preparing the dispensing apparatus, taking medications from the shelves, and scanning the barcode in the powders dispensing checking system. These movements led to shorter working time in experts. In contrast, newcomer had individual differences at the dispensing. Even with the same pharmacist, the work progression differed depending upon the prescription. Therefore, it is thought that the factor of common error was inadequate check and overlooked. The state that it’s messy on the workplace is also considered highly likely to cause dispensing mistakes. At the weighing, expert started weighing after the inspection of the prescription and checking weighed amount. However, certain newcomer dispensed to depend on the powders dispensing checking system only for the weighing process, without the inspection of the prescription or checking weighed amount. Irregular doses for infants and older patients require fine adjustments; therefore, the powders dispensing checking system may not find all dispensing errors. It is important for a pharmacist to, first, be written calculated weight on the prescription and checked by themselves, and next to begin dispensation work. In the future, as well as the powdered medication dispensing, it is necessary to make use of measures for preventing errors in the various dispensing process, such as the medication inspection, sterile products preparation, clinical practice et al.

Full Access to Cultural Spaces (FACS): Mapping and evaluating museum access services using mobile eye-tracking technology

Abstract The present paper aims to present significant results stemming from the FACS (Full Access to Cultural Spaces) project, launched in 2014 by the University of Macerata and concluded in 2016. In particular, this paper reports on stages one and two of the FACS project which aimed first to explore the state of the art of universal access services across a large variety of museums in Italy and nine other EU countries. Based on the first stage, an analysis of some of the most significant data obtained from a questionnaire sent out to over 1,200 European museums will be presented, with a special focus on multilingual devices and access services for the sensory impaired. The first stage was followed by an eye-tracking study on an Italian museum, Turin’s Museo Nazionale del Cinema (National Cinema Museum), aimed at evaluating visitors’ experience, attitudes and patterns of fruition through a test with a portable eye tracker (Tobii Pro Glasses 2, 50 Hz). Based on this second stage, the fruition of information panels by museum visitors at the Museo Nazionale del Cinema will be explored, specifically focusing on reading patterns and behaviours.

바지 맞음새 평가 시 전문가와 초보자의 시선추적 및 맞음새 평가 항목의 중요도 비교분석- Eye Tracking 기법을 이용하여 -

In the clothes industry, there are lack of experts including technical designers who can analyze the fit of clothes. This study is to provide practical data available for fit analysis education by distinguishing the differences in standards and aspects of garment fit between experts and novices, through the eye-tracking technology to quantify the sense of fit. For this study, two groups were organized; one composed of 7 experts with over 15 year-experience including technical designers and patternmakers, and the other composed of 7 novices who are students majoring in clothing. Wearing the goggle type eye-tracker Tobii Pro Glasses 2, the participants in the experiments were required to conduct fit analyses for a pair of pants on a live model. After those experiments, they were required to check the items for fit analysis and assess the importance level of them on a questionnaire. The differences between the two groups in the ratios of total visit count and total visit duration by each AIO(Area of Interest) of clothes were analyzed through non-parametric statistical test. The results of eye tracking experiments showed that experts focused on center front and back line, crotch area, and side seam, while novice's fixation points were dispersed around the pants. The survey results showed that the experts put importance on the center line position and its verticality, front-back proportion of side seam line, and front-back proportion of waist line, 71.4~100% of whom checked them, while 14.3% of the novices checked them.

An investigation into challenges experienced when route planning, navigating and wayfinding

ABSTRACTSome map users still experience difficulties when attempting to route plan, navigate and/or wayfind. This paper provides information on the outcomes of a research project that aims to identify the nature of the difficulties/challenges these users experience. The paper draws on findings from studies of strategies used by novice and experienced map users, and users with poor spatial abilities, to identify the skills that those with poor spatial abilities or with little map reading experience lack. Data were collected using Tobii Pro Glasses 2 hardware and associated software. Fourteen participants walked between two predetermined locations while wearing eye-tracking glasses and speaking their thoughts aloud. The data collected in this study were analysed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Analysis of the results shows three key findings for this particular group: looking at the map incessantly led to missed environmental cues; street names were not labelled at decision-making points on the map; and some individuals having poor spatial abilities prefer small-scale landmarks, for example, buildings with numbers to locate themselves, as opposed to using road names or larger landmarks. We argue that by considering these findings, map designs could be adjusted to meet the needs of map users with poor spatial abilities.