Eye Tracking Technology
The constantly evolving digital landscape has made it crucial for businesses and researchers to understand how users interact with online content. From a business standpoint you’re probably thinking, “to drive up profits!”, and while that may be true from the aforementioned vantage, the advent of recent technology has left a dearth of research on the human impact of living in the virtual world. Now more than ever we ought to prioritize creating a positive experience that contributes to the well-being of humanity. To do so, we need research.
Currently, simple data acquisition research methods allow for tracking user behavior through: query wording, time spent searching, and the rank of selected documents. While sometimes less economical one of the most valuable tools in user experience research is eye tracking. Eye tracking enables researchers to determine what users are looking at on screen and reading while performing tasks online. This provides more accurate data regarding the decision making process.
In this blog post, we explore the different types of eye tracking technologies and their applications, with a focus on video eye trackers, magnetic coil systems, and electro-oculography (EOG) recordings.
1. Video Eye Trackers:
Video eye trackers are best suited for online and usability contexts, as they offer a more natural experience for the participant. Despite being slower (sampling at about 30-60 Hz) and potentially less accurate due to the need to capture and process each frame, recent technological advances have significantly improved their accuracy.
Advantages of video eye trackers include the ability to show researchers what a user is looking at before selecting a document, thus revealing the actual behaviors users employ when reading and making decisions about which links to choose.
What’s often not noted, however, is the margin of error associated with video eye tracking software which is crucial to understand these limitationsand nuances in order to interpret findings. Many eye trackers claim to be accurate to within 1 degree of a visual angle. This equates to between 32 and 53 pixels for a standard screen size and a single line of text is often around 10 pixels high. As a result, researchers can’t typically guarantee where users are looking without using large monitors which don’t accurately reflect user daily habits.
It should be noted that research shows there is no true standard with at most 10%-12% of the population choosing any one screen size. The standard carries 11% of users where the competition carries 5%-8%.
2. Magnetic Coil Systems:
Magnetic coil systems, which are placed directly on a subject's eye, are primarily used for medical research. While they can provide highly accurate measurements, these systems can be very uncomfortable and invasive for the viewer, making them less suitable for studying online user behavior. This model is able to determine the eye’s orientation with a mean error of 0.094 degrees.
3. Electro-Oculography (EOG) Recordings:
EOG recordings are based on the muscular movements surrounding the eye. This is done by placing electrodes near your eye that measure the voltage difference between the cornea and retina. Similar to magnetic coil systems, they can be very uncomfortable and invasive for the viewer. Despite this, EOG recordings have seen some applications in studying user behavior, especially in more controlled environments. These recordings are accurate to about .5 degrees but are prone to drifting in spatial localization.
Conclusion:
Eye tracking technology has come a long way, with video eye trackers emerging as the most suitable choice for online and usability contexts. Eye tracking helps researchers and businesses alike understand how to optimize online content and visual design.
The long and Short of It (aka tldr;):
video eye trackers
a type most suited for online and usability contexts
Video eye trackers can be slower (sampling at about 30-60 Hz) and less accurate due to the need to capture and process each frame, and lose tracking during blinks.
more natural for the participant, and recent technological advances have greatly improved their accuracy.
Can highlight what a user is looking at before selecting a document highlighting actual behaviors that users employ when reading and making decisions about which links to select
Eye tracking will enable us to detect what the searcher is looking at and reading before actually selecting an online document
magnetic coil systems
placed directly on a subject’s eye that is most used for medical research.
can be very uncomfortable and invasive for the viewer.
electro-oculography (EOG) recordings
based on muscular movements surrounding the eye
can be very uncomfortable and invasive for the viewer.
more natural for the participant, and recent technological advances have greatly improved their accuracy.
accurate to about .5 degrees
prone to drifting in spatial localization
