Discussion and Future Directions for Eye Tracker Development

Future Perspectives

In the following discussion, we consider future perspectives for eye and gaze tracking. The precision of current gaze trackers is sufficient for many types of applications. Both accuracy and having few calibration points are desirable properties, but they are not necessarily the only parameters to be addressed in a gaze tracker (Scott & Findlay, 1993). Price is obviously an issue, but it is one that may be resolved through current technological developments. In some situations, however, it would be convenient if light sources, cameras, and monitors could be positioned according to particular needs rather than being constrained by manufacturer specifications (Hansen, San Agustin, & Villanueva, 2010). It seems likely that the high accuracy required to measure eye movement parameters beyond simple fixation position would not be possible without fixed hardware geometries; however, many applications do not require exact measurement of further parameters of eye movements. If eye trackers can also function reliably in both indoor and outdoor scenarios, they are likely to become more widespread and diverse in their application. Current and future topics for eye and gaze tracker hardware development include the following, outlined by Hansen and Ji (2010).