Pursuits-based Gaze Interaction using Real World Elements as Stimuli

Using gaze is a popular way to design concepts for Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI). It is especially often used for remote or hands-free communication with for example public displays, devices within smart homes or smart watches. With the introduction of Pursuits, a new technique, that exploits the smooth pursuit eye movement, was presented. It overcomes the need for calibration before working with an eye tracker, making it very attractive for spontaneous and user-independent interaction. The majority of applications currently focus on the adaption of Pursuits for moving on-screen targets and only very little research is directed at the use of Pursuits for real world target. However here usually the object is altered and animated to display a smooth pursuit stimulating movement. In this work we explore the potential and feasibility of Pursuits-based gaze interaction with moving stimuli in the form of real world elements. Therefore we compare the performance of Pursuits resulting from pursuing a real world target in different environments: (a) the real world situation, (b) the same situation shown in the form of an unedited video and (c) an abstracted video version dismissing potential depths cues, the two latter respectively on-screen. Based on the results of this experiment we designed a usability study in the real world, where we tested three scenarios on user acceptance and Pursuits performance. Gathering that exploiting natural smooth pursuits movements is perceived as a positive interaction method by the user.