Visualizing dynamic ambient/focal attention with coefficient K

Abstract

Using coefficient K, defined on a parametric scale, derived from processing a traditionally eye-tracked time course of eye movements, we propose a straightforward method of visualizing ambient/focal fixations in both scanpath and heatmap visualizations. The K coefficient indicates the difference of fixation duration and following saccade amplitude expressed in standard deviation units, facilitating parametric statistical testing. Positive and negative ordinates of K indicate focal or ambient fixations, respectively, and are colored by luminance variation depicting relative intensity of focal fixation.