This document discusses considerations for eye gaze interfaces to help people with disabilities from a human-computer interaction perspective. It explores how users visually scan unfamiliar digital interfaces to understand their interactive potential. Several examples of new interaction modes are presented, including using gestures, head movements, touch, and eye tracking for control. The document concludes that interface paradigms need to change to better incorporate tangible and natural user interfaces rather than just adding features to graphical user interfaces. More research is needed on multi-sensory feedback to interface with eyes, gestures, voice, touch, emotions and cognition.

1. Considerations about Eye Gaze
interfaces for people with disabilities:
from the HCI perspective.
Jacques Chueke
PhD Researcher, Centre for HCI Design
Dr. George Buchanan
(1st Supervisor)
Senior Lecturer, Centre for HCI Design
Stephanie Wilson
(2nd Supervisor)
Senior Lecturer, Centre for HCI Design
Web Accessibility London (a11yLDN) event
London, UK, May 2011
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2. Opportunity
I am especially interested on user exploration of new and unfamiliar digital interfaces to better
understand how users visually scan them to obtain the gist of its interactive potential. The
theory of Perceptible Affordances (Gibson: 1986, Norman: 1988, Gaver: 1991) was identified as
a proper tool to better understand users’ interactions with novel forms of input and new
generations of user interface.
MIT Media Lab: DepthJS – 2011
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3. Norman’s Theory of Action
Execution Cycle
Execution Specification of Formulation of
Actions Intention
Sequence
Interaction
Perception Interpretation Evaluation
Evaluation Cycle
Preece et al (2009: 121) quoting Norman, (1986)
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4. New Modes of Interaction
Xbox 360 (Kinect) Dashboard, 2011
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5. New Modes of Interaction
• PrimeSense / MS Kinect: Swim Browser
Prime sense browser competition winner: Stolarsky 'SwimBrowser’ – 2011
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6. New Modes of Interaction
• eviGroup Paddle Pro
Front-facing webcam to track head movements for cursor control – 2011
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7. New Modes of Interaction
• Activity Centered Design: The tool is the way (Norman, 2005) +
Embodiment (Heidegger ‘being in the world’ and Dourish): We’re the tool.
Microsoft Surface, 2007
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8. New Modes of Interaction
• Hitachi: Hitachi's Gesture Remote Control TV Prototype
CES 2009: Hitachi's Gesture Remote Control TV Prototype
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9. It’s not supposed to be like this…
Gmail Motion, April 2011
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10. It’s not supposed to be like this…
Gmail Motion, April 2011
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11. New Modes of Interaction
• Fast text input: 8Pen Style Android / FlowMenu
The marking
menu system
teaches users to
make pen-based
gestures (pg. 150)
•The Dasher Project
www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/
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12. Eye Tracking: Gaze for Control
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13. Eye Tracking: Gaze for Control
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14. Assistive Technology: Tobii P-10
• Assistive Technology: Tobii P-10 at the SmartLab (UEL).
Tobii P-10 equipment, Oct. 2010
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15. Assistive Technology: Tobii P-10
Tobii P-10 at the SmartLab (UEL), Oct. 2010
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16. Assistive Technology: Tobii P-10
Tobii P-10 at the SmartLab (UEL), Oct. 2010
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17. Assistive Technology: Tobii P-10
Windows Control, Tobii P-10
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18. Tobii Lenovo
Pointing With Your Eyes, to Give the Mouse a Break – 2011
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19. New Visual Cues/Feedback
UI affordances are
Just-in-time chrome shown on tap. Applying
Can be triggered by the principle of
touch or proximity – scaffolding will lead you
hover effect (pg. 153) to far more successful
multi-touch and gesture
UI’s. (pg. 154)
Tethers indicate
that a size
constraint (MS
Surface) has
been reached on
an item being
scaled (pg. 91)
Wigdor, D. Wixton, D. Brave NUI World, 2011
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20. Conclusions
The paradigms that define GUI and establish the conventions for
manipulation, besides the presentation of the visual interface itself -
within different digital environments (e.g. Mac and Windows OS and the
WWW) - do not match and better display/encompass the most suitable
use of novel modes of interaction.
The interface should change to encompass TUI and NUI, rather than
just co-exist with addictive features in an already exceeded GUI.
Research about the different feedback (multi-sensorial) should take place in
order to encompass more efficiently the possibilities of interfacing
with eyes, gestures, voice, touch, emotions and the very mind itself.
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21. Thank you for your attention!
Jacques Chueke
Jacques.chueke.1@city.ac.uk
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22. Bibliography
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Symbol-Sets-for-Communication-2010.pdf
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Dourish, P. Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction. A Bradford Book: The MIT
Press, USA, 2004.
Gaver, W. Technology Affordances. Copyright 1991 ACM 0-89791-383-3/91/0004/0079.
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Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Annual SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
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ISBN 978-1-60558-011-1.
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23. Bibliography
Nielsen, J. (April 1993). "Noncommand User Interfaces". Communications of the ACM (ACM Press) 36 (4):
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Norman, D. (1999). Affordance, Conventions and Design. In ACM Interactions, (May + June, 1999), 38-42.
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Preece, J. Sharp, H. Rogers, Y. Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction [2nd
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PsychNology Journal: Communication by Gaze Interaction. Vol. 7 N. 2, ISSN 1720-7525. In
Cooperation with COGAIN.
Sorensen, M. Making a Case for Biological and Tangible Interfaces. Proceedings of the Third International
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WIGDOR, Deniel. WIXON, Dennis. Brave NUI World: designing natural user interfaces for touch and gesture.
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