Integrating High Fidelity Eye, Head and World Tracking in a Wearable Device

Abstract

A challenge in mobile eye tracking is balancing the quality of data collected with the ability for a subject to move freely and naturally through their environment. This challenge is exacerbated when an experiment necessitates multiple data streams recorded simultaneously and in high fidelity. Given these constraints, previous devices have had limited spatial and temporal resolution, as well as compression artifacts. To address this, we have designed a wearable device capable of recording a subject's body, head, and eye positions, simultaneously with RGB and depth data from the subject's visual environment, measured in high spatial and temporal resolution. The sensors include a binocular eye tracker, an RGB-D scene camera, a high-frame-rate scene camera, and two visual odometry sensors, which we synchronize and record from, with a total incoming data rate of over 700 MB/s. All sensors are operated by a mini-PC optimized for fast data collection, and powered by a small battery pack. The headset weighs only 1.4 kg, the remainder just 3.9kg, and can be comfortably worn by the subject in a small backpack, allowing full mobility.