A team of researchers led by Professor Paul Macneilage from the University of Nevada has developed a CCTV technology, which demonstrates how one looks at the world. It also keeps track of what is happening to a person and the movements of his eyes, to associate data and get a holistic model. First experiments have shown that our perception of what is seen differs greatly from what actually watched our eyes.
The basis for the system took headset German company Pupil Labs, which is equipped with a pair Microtimer for tracking eye movements. It also has an inertial measurement unit for orientation in space. The team of Macneilage added a couple more cameras aimed forward in the direction of motion of the user. So as not to burden the system, they brought computing power to the laptop in the backpack, to which the headset is connected.
The resulting system simultaneously monitors the movement of eyes and head, separating this data so you can see not only which way he looks, but at what point focused. The situation is constantly changing, even during a leisurely stroll in our view moves all the time. Together with data from GPS, video with front facing cameras and markers timing is a complete model of what the user has seen highlighting the objects and details that attracted his attention.
In the next step the team Macneilage wants to record a series of videos with the volunteers ranging in age from 5 to 70 years. The obtained knowledge base will be analyzed by various methods to find the answer to the question: how do we visually estimated the world? Why and what attracts our gaze, forcing him to hold, as the visual interaction, etc. These data will be useful later when designing implants, artificial intelligence, new sensors, in neurobiology and even in art.
Source — University of Nevada