A Study of Applying Gaze-Tracking Control to Motorized Assistive Devices

Abstract

One of the most difficult barriers to alleviating the effects of degenerative diseases is the severe retrogression they cause not only in communication, but also in the ability to manipulate devices designed to restore agency.

This project aims to reproduce the muscle control that people with ALS (PALS) have lost, using a lowcost gaze tracker as the input device for a motorized headrest.  Eye movement is often the last remaining method of control in a number of progressive neurodegenerative diseases, and harnessing it as an input device allows a broad range of applications that can benefit users of this technology.

The tracker and associated electronics are connected to a motorized headrest, the first of its kind, developed on campus at the University of British Columbia (UBC).  This system uses the Mirametrix S1 eye-gaze tracking device to take a user’s commands and translate them into head movement, which allows for communication through predefined nods or shakes, the ability to self-direct an otherwise immobile individual’s head position, and comfortable selection of a resting head position.

The development of our novel user interface demonstrates the utility of eye-gaze tracking as a functional and promising method to restore control to immobilized persons.