Camera system tracks eye movement

JANUARY 7, 2009--iView X RED from SMI Maps Eye Gaze Movement SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI; Teltow, Germany), is a developer of systems for measuring eye movement and evaluating the course of that movement, also known as eye tracking. The system was on display at the Allied Vision Technologies (Stadtroda, Germany; www.alliedvisiontec.com) booth during VISION 2008 in Stuttgart, Germany.

With its iView X RED, SMI has developed a portable system that can track and analyze the course of a test subject's gaze upon a particular motif, such as an advertisement. The device itself is a compact sensor unit installed to work in computer. The test subject then sits in front of the device, about 20 to 25 inches away and views the test image. The test subject is free to move in his or her seat and wears no apparatus on the head or eyes, thus ensuring comfort, freedom from disruption, and the ability to commit to the experiment.

The system can work with subjects who wear glasses or contact lenses. The sensor unit, with its integrated digital camera, is connected to a PC whose imaging software then analyzes the captured data in real time: Tthe test subject's head, eyes and pupils are automatically recognized and even the smallest eye movements are tracked in relation to the test image. For more information, go to: www.smivision.com.