Computer input system based on gaze vector estimation with iris center detection from face images acquired with a Web camera allowing user movement

A system which allows computer input without a keyboard is proposed. The system utilizes a display-mounted Web camera for acquisition of the user's face and also a display-mounted lamp for illumination of the user. It is found that the proposed system allows almost perfect computer input (90%) if the distance between the user and display is within 30 cm and if the keyboard image is displayed on a 19-inch computer display (8-cm key distance) with 40-W fluorescent light as normal illumination from both sides of the display. The proposed system thus requires one retry of key entry in ten times. The proposed system allows user movement, because a moving picture of the user's face is acquired in real time. The relation of the allowable user movement to the success rate, and the relation of the signal-to-noise ratio and the contrast of the acquired image of the user to the success rate are determined. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 92(5): 31–40, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10015