Budget Eye Tracking

The need for budget eye-tracking solutions

Problem Definition

For many years, the situation on the market of technologically sophisticated eye-tracking devices is

not in favor of the final user. The cost of a nurse or a specialized assistant, which will help the

paralyzed patient to communicate with the outside world, is high enough, but keeping him in a

specialized clinic or purchase an eye-tracking system for home use will be many times more

expensive. Everyone cannot afford this, and combined with a costly course of treatment and

rehabilitation, it becomes even less affordable. As a result, patients are forced to suffer without

communication, which introduces additional negative aspects to the disease due to frequent stress

and forced isolation.

The situation is complicated by the fact that in most of the devices there is no possibility to change

the language used in text managing and typing, which creates a number of additional problems and

for many makes the imported eye trackers impossible to use. In addition, problems may arise with

the delivery and warranty repairs in case of any, even minor defects, as almost all of the major

service centers are located exclusively in European cities and states. When importing devices from

abroad, because of differences in state standards, eye trackers of leading Western manufacturers can

be incompatible with intelligent control systems of home equipment.

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In addition, given the cost of most eye-tracking systems, it is simply economically irrational for

manufacturers to organize service centers and sales points far from the major financial centers

because the individual orders there will not be able to recoup even a portion of the funds spent on

the construction and advertising. All this leads to the situation wherein regions with no advanced

medical centers, insurance companies are not able to pay for the long (and often lifelong) treatment

of the patients in case of paralysis, and the income level in these places does not allow people to buy

expensive equipment, so the costly eye-tracking systems are simply not delivered there.

But this is not even the main problem. Most patients do not need a rich feature set; they do not need

their eye trackers to manage home appliances and computer programs. They do not need additional

modules for human speech synthesis, a large arsenal of options, and complex schemes of device

calibration. They need only one - the ability to communicate.

After all, when you think of how modern computing power grows, and even a budget laptop is able

to quickly and easily handle large amounts of information, including digitizing and analysis of data

from an external camera. In this case you just need a video recording device and a program that

shows the patient the matrix of letters on a monitor, as when working with an assistant. There is no

need for costly multifunctional eye trackers. The device will be compact and mobile, able to work

for some time on internal battery, and will be 10 times cheaper and more practical than its Western

analogues.

It is hoped that a hitherto vacant niche of budget firmware sets of eye-tracking systems in most

countries will soon be completed, and the paralyzed and remaining motionless patients will be able

to communicate with other people. After all, who else but they know the true value of each word?


Budget eye-tracking systems

Perhaps the only way out of this situation is the development of inexpensive eye-tracking systems.

Many cannot afford expensive equipment, and the services of a qualified assistant are also far from

cheap. Moreover, the human factor should be taken into account: When working with the board of

characters, the assistant, in most cases, gets tired faster than the patient.

Inexpensive but sufficiently effective eye-tracking systems can be created with a Notebook and a

webcam. By analyzing the cost of the above factors, it is possible to assess the strengths and

weaknesses of such a system:

• The use of precision gear. The accuracy of a webcam is several times lower (compared to

some of the professional devices 10 times) than the devices used in eye tracking; the

frequency of shooting is also much lower. But to function with large characters, the accuracy

is not an essential factor. The system based on a Notebook is designed to be used exclusively

with the letter matrix and does not support the mouse pointer. For this reason small

variations in positioning are tolerated.

• Software development. Basic eye trackers do not require the development of a software set,

as they will not support the mouse pointer or any external applications. Modules for speech

synthesis will not apply either. Using a simple program will ensure simplicity and ease of

interface with high reliability.

• Essential functionalities. The sum of the capacities of Notebook combined with other

additional software. Of course, the capabilities of a Notebook will not be available to

patients with limited motor functions who can only use the letter matrix. But this will already

allow them to communicate, by typing the text character by character such a simplified

system created precisely for this objective.

• Brand, hardware support, and warranty costs. The simpler the software or hardware is, the

higher its reliability and durability. Moreover, in the case of any serious damage to the

equipment, like a laptop or webcam, it can always be effortlessly replaced. While repairing a

professional eye-tracking device, its sensitive camera, the radiator, or the video-processing

block can result in significant difficulties and should be fixed only by a professional service

company.

But, of course, the decisive factor in the improvement of this kit is its extremely low cost.

Importantly, the system is a light, mobile, and doesn't require much to work.


New niche

Eye-tracking budget systems are unlikely to ever compete with the high-tech and multi-function

products. But this is not their objective; they will have a consumer niche. Their main and only use

would be to offer totally paralyzed individuals with a safe and inexpensive method for

communication. And they completely succeed in this job.


Solution from EyeComTec

A group of developers from EyeComTec (subdivision of LAZgroup SA) creating software to help

people who suffer from paralysis or considerably impaired mobility. Our mission is to develop

efficient and affordable technologies that will allow people to communicate with patients

exclusively through eye movement.

Why the emphasis on affordability? Having analyzed the market of computer devices for paralyzed

people, we came to an upsetting conclusion: the majority of the devices and software are too

expensive for the patients and their families to purchase. Of course, the big companies annually

spend great amounts of money on improving the quality of their products, but regardless, the prices

are still too high. This is also due to the fact that the whole market is divided amongst a few big

monopolistic companies.

We consider these factors as a challenge to our own skills and knowledge. We are sure that the

devices for paralyzed people should not be so expensive, and we are planning to create working

models of the system based on notebooks with a built-in video camera (which costs less than $500).

In case of non-commercial use, the software will be free of charge. As of now, we have created

working algorithms and prototypes of the programs; in the near future, they will be documented and

published on our site for free access.

We understand very well that the developers should at least recover their expenses for the new

technologies but, with this move, we would like to show that sometimes making profits is not the

most important, especially when dealing with people who have a very hard life and who we can

help. The programs available on the market are not ideal but we are trying to develop a suitable and

affordable product for those who really need it. Besides, if this creates competition in the field of


computer technologies, if other companies create products which are more effective and less costly

than the current ones, then we would consider that an unequivocal success.

As our site develops we will also be gathering information about other technologies that are useful

to paralyzed people — a description of devices and software systems, people's experience with using

them, and users comments. The more information we can gather, the easier it will be for the users of

our site to make the right choice and the right purchase. The main thing is not to forget that quality

is not always measured by price.


Author

LAZgroup - Business and Technology Solutions.

“LAZgroup S.A.” is software research and development company located in the city Geneva of Switzerland.

Our purpose is research, development and exploitation of various modules, algorithms, libraries and

software solutions in the field of computer security, artificial intelligence and alternative user interfaces;

and all other activities in the field of IT..

http://lazgroup.com/52-The-need-for-budget-eye-tracking-systems

http://lazgroup.com/30-Alternative-Interfaces

http://lazgroup.com/


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