Team Name
Marcie’s Eye Tracker (iTrak)
Students
Joseph Marcus Soriano
Esha Shah
Divy Acharya
Iyemenvile Joel Itipo
Sponsor
University of Texas at Arlington
Timeline
Fall 2019 – Spring 2020
Abstract
Huge numbers of the present eye tracking products made for ALS patients don’t function admirably for everyone. We will probably make one that will. Our motivation is, nearby UTA alum, Marcie Gibson, who was determined to have ALS the year she graduated school. Our essential goal is to make an item that functions admirably for her before her current obsolete machine gives out. When the product is completed, we might want to demo the project to any other person who winds up with the same problems with old outdated software.
So as to accomplish our vision, we will incorporate a modern, easy to use, and reliable eye tracker and one of the most advanced ones in the market, the Tobii eye tracker 4c. We will incorporate fast, efficient and accurate technology like OptiKey and use the software to accommodate any further changes that Marcie would require.
Background
Marcie Gibson graduated UTA in 1994, and was not long after diagnosed to have ALS. Marcie’s affliction has rendered her unable to use most of her motor functions, including ability to speak, eat, and move with the exception of her eyes. In spite of these conditions, Marcie does not let ALS slow her down and works as a paralegal.
She presently utilizes a remote eye following framework by Eye Response Technologies called Erica, which works by discovering her pupils, making a gaze vector, and mapping this vector to coordinates on a screen which can then be inferred to text and consequently speech. The biggest problem is that the company was bought out, which means Marcie’s hardware and software does not receive the maintenance and support that it requires.
She currently uses an outdated system that’s almost 20 years old that cannot be upgraded for legal reasons within the company. The system has no support for customization which would be extremely helpful for tailoring an experience specifically for her to both increase communication speed and optimally reduce eyestrain and it needs to be constantly re-calibrated for accurate performance, which is not optimal. Our project allows Marcie to continue living her daily life through modern technology without the worry of system failure.
Project Requirements
- The eye-tracking device will use USB to communicate between a Windows 10 computer and tracker
- The eye tracker should be able to take in input accurately
- With the provided eye tracker, the user should be able to comfortably navigate the user interface to generate text
- The user will then have an additional text-to-speech option after the text has been produced.
- update the current software of our client.
- The new software has to incorporate a double lens camera so that our client can easily take pictures or see through the camera better.
- Our product should incorporate multiple screens in the software
- The product must be precise and accurate while mapping pupil coordinates.
- The user interface will have no associated concerns for user safety other than laboratory compliance for the development team
- The software should be easy to use for everyone, which can be achieved by a certain level of customization
System Overview
Eye Control makes Windows more accessible by empowering people with disabilities to operate an on screen mouse, keyboard, and text-to-speech experience using only their eyes. The experience requires a compatible eye tracker, like the tracker that we’re using the Tobii 4C, which unlocks access to the Windows operating system to be able to do the tasks one could previously accomplish only with a physical mouse and keyboard. Users can perform tasks which previously required using a physical mouse and keyboard. With native eye tracking support now in Windows 10, Marcie can use just her eyes to utilize Windows features, including typing and moving of the mouse cursor. Tobii eye tracker works seamlessly with windows 10 and makes the whole experience really intuitive.
Results
Future Work
For further testing and making sure requirements are being met, we would need to make additional appointments with Marcie. We have to install the monitor as well as mount it to her wheelchair, and make sure the system is not lagging as we had tested in previous sessions. We will have to make sure that the hardware and the eye tracking software is working accurately and swiftly. We also need to take into account what Marcie requires to be modified in the software or hardware as needed. In further testing we would need to see if the hardware can be adaptable to either for working with a Raspberry Pi or a Windows PC. With the additional software like the OptiKey and Dasher, we need to be able to take in input from Marcie as to how we can modify eg. the keyboards to perhaps auto-predict what most commonly words she uses. As with the current global pandemic of COVID-19, we are not able to make in person sessions due to her being immuno-compromised and being susceptible. As such, we have to factor in for testing at a future semester.
Project Files
Project Charter (link)
System Requirements Specification (link)
Architectural Design Specification (link)
Detailed Design Specification (link)
Poster (link)
References
Dasher On-Screen Keyboard, www.bltt.org/software/dasher/index.htm.
“Windows 10 Eye Control Basics.” Support.microsoft.com, support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4512610/windows-10-eye-control-basics.
Optikey. “Communicate and Control Your Computer Using Your Eyes.” Optikey, optikey.org/.
“Tobii Eye Tracker 4C.” Tobii Gaming, gaming.tobii.com/tobii-eye-tracker-4c/.
