September 3, 2010

Eye Tracking: Does Sexual Gaze Affect Reproductive Behavior?

Seductive Look

We have all become accustomed to lives filled with stress. Modern day lifestyles are fast paced and chaotic despite the negative impact on our health. High blood pressure, obesity, and fatigue are all well known consequences, but there is more than just these. A recent publication set out to study how stress affects reproductive behavior, and gaze tracking came in handy for the testing process.While stress is a common phenomenon in the animal world, it’s no wonder that humans have grown accustomed … [Read more...]

Eye Tracking: Uncertainty in Iris Localization

Iris Localization

In a study coming from Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK, researchers have come up with a Bayesian solution to the problem of locating irises in an image known to contain a face. We’ve written a few articles about new security cameras that can provide iris recognition from afar or for unwilling or non-compliant suspects in a security check, so adding some detail on the processes behind some of these ideas could be helpful to our readers.Locating irises has been a problem for many eye tracking … [Read more...]

Biometric Devices: Criticism Growing Against Scans in Airports

3d body scan

According to a recent article published in USA Today, New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports will be newly equipped with full-body imaging scanners in the coming months. The “virtual strip searches,” as some fliers are calling it, use E-rays or electromagnetic waves to detect weapons on 3-D images of passengers’ naked bodies. We’ve discussed body scanning technologies in past posts on Eye Tracking Update, as we occasionally cover topics like biometrics, but new reports are causing a stir … [Read more...]

Eye Tracking Study Looks Into Your Bad Hair Day

bad hair day

We’ve seen a lot of eye tracking studies focusing on first impressions and in individual’s instincts when it comes to determining if someone is, for example, trustworthy, friendly, or even deceptive (see recent posts on eye tracking for suspect lineups in law enforcement). But we have yet to see one as overt, in a superficial way, as in an article posted on Pantene’s website. Of course, Pantene is advertising for their hair products here, but we thought it was interesting nonetheless.In … [Read more...]

Iris Recognition That Detects Hostiles Being Developed for Darpa

Iris scanning

More eye tracking news from the homeland security industry, this time from Wired’s Danger Room. The Pentagon is currently funding researchers that are developing mini-cameras that can locate and scan eyeballs.The article says a team of electrical engineers at Southern Methodist University (SMU) has created cameras with funding from Darpa, which is the Pentagon’s research agency. The cameras first started showing up in the blogs last year, when Marc Christensen, a professor at SMU announced … [Read more...]

What Has Eye Tracking Taught Us About Criminal Identifications?

Criminal Lineup

Researchers have now been using eye tracking for more than a century. This may be surprising to some but a quick look around web and you can see just where and when it started to show up. It’s led to numerous discoveries providing insight into how we think and feel. As a recent publication puts it, eye tracking has investigated a range of topics – not just the usability studies we see more and more of these days, but others such as the effect of weapon exposure, visual attention in anti-social … [Read more...]

What Eye Tracking Reveals About Your Lying Eyes

Lying eyes

Lie detection is a field that, with increasing security controls worldwide, is most certainly growing. A group of educational psychologists are using eye tracking technology in an effort to create a new alternative to polygraph lie detection. Recent research licensed by the University of Utah (where the research is taking place) to Credibility Assessment Technologies is a milestone for the industry and a promising hint of things to come.Credibility Assessment Technologies (CAT) is based in Park … [Read more...]

Eye Tracking and F Patterns: Recurring Theme in Web Usability

F pattern

Again, the F pattern. It’s a frequently recurring topic worth noting, as it really seems to be the strongest and most consistent trend we see coming out of the various web usability studies throughout the industry.When designing a site, a paper, or a page, it’s important to know how a person reads, where they look, and what they can expect to find. If you want to catch a visitor’s eye, there are certain rules to follow which remain consistent.Through eye tracking and the resulting heatmaps … [Read more...]

Avatars and Eye Tracking: Ford Uses Technology to Improve Safety

Human Avatar

Ford Motor Company has been using eye tracking and virtual reality to improve safety in motor vehicles. In an article recently published at AskPatty.com, a website specializing in automotive advice for women, Ford is said to be working with several high-tech labs, taking advantage of virtual reality to help reduce injuries, costs, and strict timelines and eye tracking to detect and prevent drowsy driving.Ford has created two avatars of different sizes, known as “Jack” and “Jill.” Jack … [Read more...]

Eye Tracking: Evaluating Landing Page Usability With Surveys

Survey

Landing page, splash page, homepage. Call it what you will – there are many names for the first page of a website, that is – the page that is supposed to be the starting point for users. But with the growth of powerful and effective search engines, the landing page is becoming somewhat moot, as users can now reach specific pages within a website directly and without having to begin at the beginning before they navigate their way through a myriad of pages in search of the information they want.On … [Read more...]