Eye-tracking technology is used in research on the visual system, in psychology, in cognitive linguistics, and in studies of developmental disorders. The Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA) is a biennial meeting that is a leading hotbed for research on this subject.
Out of the 103 papers submitted for presentation at ETRA 2014, only 19 were accepted as “long papers”, 6-8 page technical papers that represent the primary venue for scientific dissemination for engineers and computer scientists. The Technology and Innovation Laboratory of the Yale Child Study Center, led by Dr. Frederick Shic, earned two of these coveted spots. One paper, entitled “Saliency-based Bayesian Modeling of Dynamic Viewing of Static Scenes” written by Drs. Daniel Campbell, Joseph Chang, Katarzyna Chawarska, and Frederick Shic, demonstrated a novel method for eye tracking analysis that incorporated Bayesian modeling techniques. Another long paper “On relations between fixation identification algorithms and fractal box counting methods” by Drs. Quan Wang, Elizabeth Kim, Katarzyna Chawarska, Brian Scassellati, Steven Zucker, and Frederick Shic, examined fixation identification algorithms in eye tracking data, drawing parallels between these techniques and box counting techniques used to assess fractal scale-free properties in natural phenomenon. A figure from this paper was selected for display on the cover of the conference program.
The Technology and Innovation Laboratory also presented two shorter papers as well. Dr. Elizabeth Kim and colleagues (A. Naples, G. Gearty, Q. Wang, S. Wallace, C. Wall, M. Perlmutter, J. Kowitt, L. Friedlaender, B. Reichow, F. Volkmar, and F. Shic) presented on the development of untethered, low cost head-mounted eye tracking devices. This system incorporated hardware and software developments, and attracted the attention of audiences interested in low cost eye trackers that do not restrict the wearer’s head position. A Yale undergraduate student, Feridun Mert Celebi (with co-authors: E. Kim, Q. Wang, C. Wall, & F. Shic), also presented on a novel calibration technique relying on smooth pursuits that was highly received.
ETRA 2014 provided an opportunity to share in the cutting-edge technological developments in eye tracking research and applications occurring throughout the world. For the Technology and Innovation Laboratory, it was a chance to present and receive feedback on their work in improving and extended eye-tracking-related technologies and to gather new insights that may someday translate into new techniques for understanding atypical developmental processes and for improving outcomes in children with and without autism spectrum disorders.
Campbell, D. J., Chang, J., Chawarska, K., & Shic, F. (2014). Saliency-based Bayesian Modeling of Dynamic Viewing of Static Scenes. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications (pp. 51–58). New York, NY, USA: ACM. doi:10.1145/2578153.2578159
Celebi, F. M., Kim, E. S., Wang, Q., Wall, C. A., & Shic, F. (2014). A Smooth Pursuit Calibration Technique. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications (pp. 375–376). New York, NY, USA: ACM. doi:10.1145/2578153.2583042
Kim, E. S., Naples, A., Gearty, G. V., Wang, Q., Wallace, S., Wall, C., … Shic, F. (2014). Development of an Untethered, Mobile, Low-cost Head-mounted Eye Tracker. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications (pp. 247–250). New York, NY, USA: ACM. doi:10.1145/2578153.2578209
Wang, Q., Kim, E., Chawarska, K., Scassellati, B., Zucker, S., & Shic, F. (2014). On Relationships Between Fixation Identification Algorithms and Fractal Box Counting Methods. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications (pp. 67–74). New York, NY, USA: ACM. doi:10.1145/2578153.2578161