Detection and tracking of eyes for gaze-camera control

We propose new algorithms to extract and track the positions of eyes in a real-time video stream. For extraction of eye positions, we detect blinks based on the differences between successive images. However eyelid regions are fairly small. We propose a method to distinguish them from head movement. For eye position tracking, we use an updating template based on a “Between-the-Eyes” pattern instead of the eyes themselves. Eyes are searched based on the current position of “Between-the-Eyes” and their geometrical relations to the position in the previous frame. The “Betweenthe-Eyes” pattern is easier to locate accurately than eye patterns. We implemented the system on a PC with a Pentium III 866MHz CPU. The system runs at 30 frames per second and robustly detects and tracks the eyes.