Proactive Response to Eye Movements

Proactive computing reinforces the need for non-command interfaces that fulfill the user’s intentions without explicit commands. Eye gaze is a natural modality to be used in this connection, because it is also used proactively in everyday life. Previously eye-tracking has been used mostly for research purposes or in applications targeted for users with special needs. We present iDict, a gaze-assisted application for reading electronic documents written in a foreign language. iDict observes the reader’s eye movements and behaves proactively by providing help when the user has comprehension problems. The lessons learnt (coping with inaccurate input data, need to control the level of proactivity, and delicacy of proactive adaptation) are of interest to the development of proactive applications in general and to eye-aware applications in particular.