What is VR eye tracking ?

4 min read

26 Sep

26Sep

What is VR eye tracking? And how does it work? Virtual reality gives us tools to experience worlds that could not exist. This capability significantly increases the amount of experimentation that researchers can perform. Experiments no longer have to be subject to factors that have normally prevented certain experiments from taking place, for example - time, safety, budget (or even the laws of physics). You can simulate anything in virtual reality - VR.

Along with the ability of developers to create new virtual worlds, there is also a growing need for additional technologies that can measure and test body responses, such as the eyes, for example.? Eye surveillance provides an answer and solution to this issue in virtual reality.

How does eye tracking work in virtual reality?Eye monitoring usually works by measuring the distance between the center of the pupil and the corneal reflection - the distance varies depending on the angle of the eye. Infrared light, invisible to the human eye, creates this reflection while the cameras record and track the movements. Computer vision algorithms can deduce from the corner of the eye where the gaze is directed.

The eyes show what is called "stability" - where the angle of the eyes is directed to a central point where the gaze meets (see illustration below).

In an everyday setting, if it were possible to draw a line from the center of each eye, they would both meet the same junction - the object to which the person was looking. In VR virtual reality, the display is placed so close in front of the eyes that the eyes do not show stability, but there is of course, still depth perception because of the three-dimensional information displayed. So eye tracking in VR uses artificial intelligence to figure out what the eyes are doing and luckily, even though the location of the eyes does not tell the entire story, we have the missing data. By combining information about the depth of the virtual objects in the virtual reality environment, it is possible to build a model that explains where the eyes are looking and it is possible to follow a virtual line from the eyes to the virtual world.

What are the benefits of virtual reality eye tracking? Because processing entire virtual environments is computationally expensive. It is necessary to reduce this burden so that processing power can be wasted in other ways (e.g. to ensure a smooth experience, expanding functionality or graphics).

By using virtual reality eye tracking information - VR, so-called "strict processing" can be performed - in which only those elements of the environment being viewed are displayed. Which reduces the processing power required and does not harm the immersive work environment in which the virtual world represents the real world.

Researchers point out that a lack of focus blur can lead to a different perception of the size and distance of objects in the virtual environment by presenting a peripheral blur, a sense of increasing depth perception. This blur is created by a process called "accommodation" To the distance of the observed object.

Reprocessing can also enhance the ecological validity of the experience (i.e., how much an experiment mimics reality). By creating environments closer to real life, we can also assume that the participants' behavior within the virtual environment will be close to real life. Researchers can become increasingly confident that the results of the experiment apply beyond the virtual world.
This ultimately means that both attentive processes can be measured and assured that they are more real to life because of the use of eye tracking, which opens up possibilities for understanding human behavior accurately, which has hitherto been expensive in other settings or simply impractical.
What studies have been done on eye monitoring? In studies that used eye monitoring to compare different training methods for laboratory work, participants were trained on a desktop computer or in a virtual environment. The researchers were able to conclude that in standard learning; the results were disappointing compared to the participants in the virtual experience.

Another example of eye-tracking use included participants driving a virtual car while tracking an autonomously controlled virtual car. The researchers could expose participants to what would have been unsafe environments if they had conducted the experiment in the real world, with no risk of danger. They found that the increased comfort of the participants in relation to the autonomous car also increased the risk of a collision, a critical factor in maintaining driver safety in the presence of self-driving cars.

Additional sample studies by eye-tracking virtual reality. Disease diagnosis research, experience in social (virtual) interaction combined with hepatic feedback, testing the impact on architectural designs and other endless possibilities.

Let's learn how eye tracking allows researchers to: Evaluate attentional processes in virtual reality environments Investigate advanced analysis by areas of interest, heat maps, gaze mapping and more You will learn to combine eye tracking with virtual reality goggles and other BIOS sensors that measure physiological responses such as heart rate, arousal and muscle activation.