Eye Tracking Technology

            A new article on “https://techcrunch.com/” by Ben Dickson asserts eye-tracking technology. Eye tracking is a sensor technology that enables a device to know exactly where your eyes are focused. In the simplest terms, eye tracking is the measurement of eye activity. Where do we look? What do we ignore? When do we blink? How does the pupil react to different stimuli?  It determines your presence, attention, focus, drowsiness, consciousness or other mental states. This information can be used to gain deep insights into consumer behavior or to design revolutionary new user interfaces across various devices. Eye tracking interprets natural human behavior, which helps us to gain deep insights into people's attention and actions.

            The system monitors your gaze direction at all times. This is a marketer’s paradise. Guesswork is no longer required to understand your focus. Your eyes tell the story. What drew your attention in a 360-degree movie? What ad was most effective? What caused pupil dilation or contraction – a sign of arousal or fear.

            By using the eyes as a “pointer” on a screen, eye tracking facilitates interactions with computers and other devices when the user cannot or does not wish to use their hands as the input form. Eye tracking is also used in advertising and market research.

Knowing where customers and users look, and where they don’t can be invaluable for both online, TV and print advertising. Eye trackers on monitors and kiosks can glean insights into how many users see key messages and component of ads, while mobile gear can be used to weigh customer reaction to print material, posters and product packages.Eye tracking devices can also help store owners research customer behavior and navigation patterns in order to better understand how customers look at products on shelves, which sections of the store get more attention from customers, and how they can make better use of their store space. Moreover, eye tracking will make it possible for users with physical difficulties in performing mouse navigation. Eye tracking can help users with disabilities move the cursor as efficiently as anyone. People with disabilities can leverage eye tracking to improve quality of life. Those with limited mobility can use eye tracking for better computer interaction. Furthermore, eye tracking is also used for driving safety. Distracted driving and drowsiness are two of the prominent causes of road incidents. Eye tracking technology can help track the driver’s attention and state of awareness and issue warnings. Combined with other innovative technologies such as smart sensors and image analysis software, eye tracking can help direct drivers’ attention to where it most matters and prevent incidents from happening.

            What if everyone knew exactly what you are looking at? Chat with a stranger and she will know if you focus on her eyes, chest or belt. Talk with a neighbor and he’ll know when your gaze is wandering away. Eye tracking is not much different than Web browsing history. Google and others analyze your clickstream today. The Web sites you visit impact the advertisements that you see. Your phone location gets used in the same way. 

            Eye tracking has powerful and serious uses. There are a lot of fields where eye tracking can be useful, including medicine, education, simulation and neuroscience, and probably many more areas that we will soon find out as the technology further matures and goes mainstream. Will there be a dark side to it? Time will tell. For the moment, we know that companies will be able to collect much more information about us, and that usually does come with some privacy tradeoffs. But it is still too early to tell whether this is a bad thing or not. Therefore, every coin has two sides. Eye technology may bring numerous benefits; at the same time it may occur some negative outcomes. I hope that this technology will contribute to society for useful purposes not nefarious ways.

Reference:

Dickson, B. (2017, February 19). Unlocking the potential of eye tracking technology. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/19/unlocking-the-potential-of-eye-tracking-technology/