Eye tracking in advanced interface design

The problem of human-computer interaction can be viewed as two powerful information processors (human and computer) attempting to communicate with each other via a narrowbandwidth, highly constrained interface [23]. To address it, we seek faster, more natural, and more convenient means for users and computers to exchange information. The user’s side is constrained by the nature of human communication organs and abilities; the computer’s is constrained only by input/output devices and interaction techniques that we can invent. Current technology has been stronger in the computer-to-user direction than user-to-computer, hence today’s user-computer dialogues are rather one-sided, with the bandwidth from the computer to the user far greater than that from user to computer. Using eye movements as a user-tocomputer communication medium can help redress this imbalance. This chapter describes the relevant characteristics of the human eye, eye tracking technology, how to design interaction techniques that incorporate eye movements into the user-computer dialogue in a convenient and natural way, and the relationship between eye movement interfaces and virtual environments.