The EyeTracking Blog

In 2002, Dr. Sandra Marshall presented a landmark paper at the IEEE 7th Conference on Human Factors and Power Plants, introducing the Index of Cognitive Activity (ICA). This innovative technique "provides an objective psychophysiological measurement of cognitive workload" from pupil-based eye tracking data. In the decade since this conference, the ICA has been used by eye tracking researchers all over the world in a wide variety of contexts.

In this installment of the EyeTracking blog, we'll take a look at some of the most interesting applications of the ICA. There are many to choose from, but here are a few of the greatest hits…

The ICA in Automotive Research

Understanding the workload of drivers is central to automotive design and regulation. Schwalm et al. collected ICA data during a driving simulation including lane changes and secondary tasks. Analyses...

Eye tracking is certainly on the rise. There are more businesses, universities and government agencies using this technology now than ever before. To keep pace with demand, new eye tracking hardware systems are being released all the time. So how do you decide which one is the right one for your research? It's not as if you can walk into Best Buy and ask the guy in the blue shirt which eye tracker you should purchase… not yet anyway.

At EyeTracking, Inc. we've used every type of eye tracker in just about every research environment, from the usability lab to the grocery store, from the cockpit to the operating room. After over a decade of work with dozens of eye tracking systems, we've learned a thing or two about choosing the tool best-suited to each of our projects. For those of you considering the purchase of an eye tracker, here are a few questions that we recommend that...

There's a lot to like about EyeWorks™. Its unique brand of flexible efficacy makes it an ideal software solution for eye tracking professionals in a variety of academic, applied and marketing fields. To put it simply, EyeWorks™ IS the collective expertise of EyeTracking, Inc., refined and packaged for researchers everywhere. In the coming months we will highlight a few unique features of EyeWorks™ in the EyeTracking Blog.

Dynamic Region Analysis (Patent Pending)

All good science must quantify results. Eye tracking research is no exception, be it academic, applied, marketing or any other discipline. Unless you have an objective way to evaluate the precise activity of the eye, there is little value in collecting such data. Thus, most eye tracking software offers the ability to draw regions (or AOIs, if you like) as a way to quantify the number and timing of data points...

There's a lot to like about EyeWorks™. Its unique brand of flexible efficacy makes it an ideal software solution for eye tracking professionals in a variety of academic, applied and marketing fields. To put it simply, EyeWorks™ IS the collective expertise of EyeTracking, Inc., refined and packaged for researchers everywhere. In the coming months we will highlight a few unique features of EyeWorks™ in the EyeTracking Blog.

Multi-Display Data Collection

A typical eye tracking study takes place within the borders of a single display, be it a monitor, projection, television or scene camera view. EyeWorks, however, is far from typical. In addition to managing standard data collection, our software offers the opportunity to collect data across multiple displays simultaneously. This innovative feature is fully integrated into all components of the EyeWorks research model,...

There's a lot to like about EyeWorks™. Its unique brand of flexible efficacy makes it an ideal software solution for eye tracking professionals in a variety of academic, applied and marketing fields. To put it simply, EyeWorks™ IS the collective expertise of EyeTracking, Inc., refined and packaged for researchers everywhere. In the coming months we will highlight a few unique features of EyeWorks™ in the EyeTracking Blog.

Multi-System Compatibility

Would you use the same equipment to evaluate the cognitive workload of a pilot in the cockpit as you would to study the eye movements of a shopper scanning a supermarket shelf? Neither would we. Because of the diversity of research conducted at EyeTracking, Inc., multi-system compatibility is a must. In one study we might need a remote system with scene camera mode and excellent gaze data accuracy; in another we may require...