Eye Tracking Software (Part 1)

Over the last couple of weeks I have been exploring Eye Tracking. I have been doing a lot of research on different software solutions and I have come to the conclusion that there is not one "affordable" out of the box solution that can get you up and running. I was very interested in finding a low cost, easy-to-use, non-obtrusive system to test my software interfaces. Trying to get information from the various companies I have researched has been difficult. Really, all I want to know is can I do eye tracking, mouse tracking, and see the results for a low cost?

So... What is Eye Tracking?

Simply, eye tracking uses cameras that record the movement of the eye(s) and documents the movement in X, Y and Sometimes Z coordinates. It will also track the duration of the gaze along with various other metrics. A test subject will wear a special apparatus or have cameras monitoring their eye movement. Meanwhile, the system will record or capture what the test subject is looking at. It could be a screen, a mobile device, walking through a store or operating a vehicle. The coordinates are then later mapped onto the video. Through analytics, many different types of charts and data can be presented to help make design decisions based on the test subjects experience.

Data can be presented in Heatmaps to see where the eye focus on a design or website.

Data can also map the path of the eye follows and how long the eye fixates on a specific point.

Eye tracking can even be used for operating machinary and vehicles. Here is a video from Tobii where they track the eye fixations of the driver of a motorcycle.

Eye Tracking Product "Leaders"

Tobii Technology is the world leader in eye tracking and eye control. Our products are widely used in various research fields and as a means to communicate. Tobii is divided into different business areas, each of which offers comprehensive solutions.
http://www.tobii.com

Noldus Information Technology develops, markets, and supports innovative software, instruments, integrated systems, and services for behavioral research.
http://www.noldus.com/

The eye tracking glasses are unobtrusive and robust and designed for a broad range of mobile eye tracking studies, e.g shelf-testing, out-of-home research, usability studies on mobile devices, driving research, visual perception research or analysis of trainings methods in professional sports.
http://eyetracking-glasses.com/

Eye tracking has never been this easy. Get setup in minutes. Calibration is simple and steady. The S1 Eye Tracker is portable, handles large data sets, and provides a high degree of accuracy.
http://mirametrix.com/

Eye tracking has never been this easy. Get setup in minutes. Calibration is simple and steady. The S1 Eye Tracker is portable, handles large data sets, and provides a high degree of accuracy.
http://www.seeingmachines.com/product/facelab/

There are also many Eye Tracking service providers such as http://eyetools.com/ who don't sell product but facilitate the entire end to end usability and eye tracking experience for your product.

Free Eye Tracking

Two tools I had come across which have provided the most success are Gaze Tracker 2.0 and Ogama. These two open source tools claim to do exactly what I require for testing web based applications and software. The Ogama tool has some bugs and kinks, but they have actually posted some fixes for me that I hope to Test this week. The only downside to this product is that you can only track single slides and screens (Stills). However, I hope play with it some more to learn as much as I can.

Ogama - Open Gaze and Mouse Analyzerhttp://www.ogama.net/
Gaze Tracker - he ITU Gaze Tracker is an open-source gaze tracking application that aims to provide a low-cost alternative to commercial gaze tracking systems and to make this technology more accessible. It is being developed by the Gaze Group at the IT University of Copenhagen, supported by the Communication by Gaze Interaction Association (COGAIN). http://www.gazegroup.org/

I will post my results when I get some time.