ECSGlasses and EyePliances: using attention to open sociable windows of interaction

We present ECSGlasses: wearable eye contact sensing glasses that detect human eye contact. ECSGlasses report eye contact to digital devices, appliances and EyePliances in the user's attention space. Devices use this attentional cue to engage in a more sociable process of turn taking with users. This has the potential to reduce inappropriate intrusions, and limit their disruptiveness. We describe new prototype systems, including the Attentive Messaging Service (AMS), the Attentive Hit Counter, the first person attentive camcorder eyeBlog, and an updated Attentive Cell Phone. We also discuss the potential of these devices to open new windows of interaction using attention as a communication modality. Further, we present a novel signal-encoding scheme to uniquely identify EyePliances and users wearing ECSGlasses in multiparty scenarios.

[1]  Roel Vertegaal,et al.  Explaining effects of eye gaze on mediated group conversations:: amount or synchronization? , 2002, CSCW '02.

[2]  James H. Aylor,et al.  Computer for the 21st Century , 1999, Computer.

[3]  M. Argyle,et al.  Gaze and Mutual Gaze , 1994, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[4]  Carlos Hitoshi Morimoto,et al.  Pupil detection and tracking using multiple light sources , 2000, Image Vis. Comput..

[5]  E. C. Cherry.  Some Experiments on the Recognition of Speech, with One and with Two Ears , 1953 .

[6]  Shumin Zhai,et al.  Gaze and Speech in Attentive User Interfaces , 2000, ICMI.

[7]  Milton Chen,et al.  Leveraging the asymmetric sensitivity of eye contact for videoconference , 2002, CHI.

[8]  Andrea Lockerd Thomaz,et al.  Eye-R, a glasses-mounted eye motion detection interface , 2001, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[9]  Roel Vertegaal,et al.  Designing attentive cell phone using wearable eyecontact sensors , 2002, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[10]  Harold Fox,et al.  Evaluating look-to-talk: a gaze-aware interface in a collaborative environment , 2002, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[11]  Roel Vertegaal,et al.  Establishing remote conversations through eye contact with physical awareness proxies , 2003, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[12]  Jeffrey S. Shell,et al.  Interacting with groups of computers , 2003, Commun. ACM.

[13]  Jeffrey S. Shell,et al.  EyePliances: attention-seeking devices that respond to visual attention , 2003, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[14]  Kristof Van Laerhoven,et al.  How to build smart appliances? , 2001, IEEE Personal Communications.

[15]  John Short,et al.  The social psychology of telecommunications , 1976 .

[16]  Roel Vertegaal,et al.  The GAZE groupware system: mediating joint attention in multiparty communication and collaboration , 1999, CHI '99.

[17]  David Lyon,et al.  The Electronic Eye: The Rise of Surveillance Society , 1994 .

[18]  Carol Harris,et al.  Minority report. , 2002, The Health service journal.

[19]  Donald A. Norman,et al.  The invisible computer , 1998 .

[20]  Eric Horvitz,et al.  Attention-Sensitive Alerting , 1999, UAI.