Understanding visual cognition
The movement of the eye processes visual stimuli, but is also involved in visual cognition and attention. The project 'Multi-modal and cognition-aware systems' (MACAS) aimed to further knowledge about the cognitive process of visual behaviour, and to develop technology that uses human eye gaze for a calibration-free human–computer interaction. This project has resulted in several novel findings. Researchers discovered how to infer a document type based on the visual behaviour of the user, and developed a method for smoother eye-tracking calibration. They also designed a head cap to record long-term eye movement, and created two prototype computers for eye gesture recognition. In addition to this project, researchers have also contributed to research efforts in Germany, Japan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom related to gaze-based human–technology interactions. Project leaders also organised two workshops on pervasive eye tracking and mobile eye-based human–computer interaction for the leading conferences on ubiquitous computing and eye movement research. This research spawned 11 international conference and two journal publications. Additional grants to pursue this work have been submitted. This kind of research has the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of visual cognition and to significantly change human–computer interactions.
