Projects

The Private and Shared Gaze: Enablers, Applications, Experiences (GaSP) project aims at developing and studying demonstrators that are made possible by the rapid spreading of eye tracking devices. The applications span from personal information management and web browsing aids to educational applications that make use of gaze-contingent digital lecture material. The intended outcomes of the project include publicly available software that enables gaze data collection, a methodology for remote usability testing with eye tracking, and a demonstrator of the potential of gaze data in the educational context. The project partners are the Humanities Lab at Lund University and the American University in Paris.

The project was funded by the Academy of Finland.

The Haptic-Gaze Interaction (HAGI) project works in the field of human-technology interaction, more specifically multimodal interaction techniques. The project began with basic research on combining of eye-pointing and haptic interaction. The basic research findings were then applied in the constructive research process in two areas: augmentative and alternative communication systems and interaction with mobile devices. It was expected that haptic interaction will make it possible to apply gaze-based user interfaces in mobile devices much better than what has been possible in the past, and therefore open new opportunities for natural and efficient interaction.

HAGI was a joint project with MMIG, funded by the Academy of Finland. We published 25 peer-reviewed scientific article to report the outcomes of the project in international venues.

The aim of the project (shortly, Speech-to-Text) is to study the real-time transmission between two communication modes, speech and writing in human interaction with a method called “print interpreting”. It means translation of spoken language and accompanying significant audible information into written text simultaneously with the talk. The text is typed on a computer and displayed on a screen where the letter-by-letter emerging text is visible. Print interpreting is needed as a communication aid for people with hearing disability to give them access to the speech.

The objectives of the study are 1) to investigate the process of print interpreting; 2) the comprehensibility of the interpretation; and 3) to develop new technology and methods for analyzing and supporting print interpreting. TAUCHI focuses on the third objective. For analysis we use eye tracking to study how different ways of presenting the textual interpretation are perceived. Based on the results the goal is to develop a new tool that helps the interpreters in producing text in a more easily perceived form. The joint project is led by Professor Liisa Tiittula from the School of Modern Languages and Translation Studies at the University of Tampere.

This project is funded by the Academy of Finland in the MOTIVE Research Programme (Ubiquitous computing and diversity of communication).

The Privacy in the Making project (PRIMA) studies the ways in which penetration, development and use of IT (e.g., ubiquitous interaction, augmented reality, self-made media) have affected, affect and possibly will affect different stakeholders in sociotechnical settings giving rise to privacy protection issues. Its interest concerns how privacy is managed and how conflicts that arise can be coped with by actors themselves, solved by regulation of different kinds (e.g., policies, binding corporate rules, and statutes) or can be handled by various technical means. The putting together of toolboxes containing standard appliances for dealing with privacy problems has been pointed out as essential. The PRIMA project shares this view and acknowledges the value of familiarizing researchers with the needs and how they can be met in different contexts.

The work at TAUCHI focused on concrete technological and regulatory privacy mechanisms in the context of future ICT. We carried out a subproject on “Awareness of People and Discussions While Protecting Privacy”. The system was developed and evaluated which uses speech and eye gaze as input signals. It aims at providing ambient information of the pulse and themes of meetings so that they can be sensed remotely, without compromising the privacy of the meeting participants.

The project was funded by Nordunet.

The COGAIN network gathers European researchers, developers and specialists for the benefit of users with disabilities. By combining forces, we aim to develop new gaze-based systems that not only enable independent communication but also make life easier and more fun. The EC funded project ended in 2009 but the network continues in the form of an association.

The network integrates cutting-edge expertise on interface technologies for the benefit of users with disabilities. COGAIN belongs to the eInclusion strategic objective of IST and focuses on improving the quality of life for those whose life is impaired by motor-control disorders, such as ALS or CP. Its assistive technologies will empower the target group to communicate by using the capabilities they have and by offering compensation for capabilities that are deteriorating. The users will be able to use applications that help them to be in control of the environment, or achieve a completely new level of convenience and speed in gaze-based communication. Using the technology developed in the network, text can be created quickly by eye typing, and it can be rendered with the user’s own voice. In addition to this, the network will provide entertainment applications for making the life of the users more enjoyable and more equal. COGAIN believes that assistive technologies serve best by providing applications that are both empowering and fun to use.

COGAIN aims at overcoming the tight coupling of hardware and software in current research and development work. Due to the fragmentation of the research activities, a given software system often works only with a particular eye tracking device. The same applies for tools of analysing the efficiency and the usability that are tailored only for a particular set-up. COGAIN will work for the modularisation and standardisation that will integrate the existing pieces into a portfolio of compatible and usable tools and devices.

The usability, comfort and take-up of the results will be ensured by the strong involvement of user communities in the project. Special activities are planned both for involving users in design and for spreading the results to those in need of the technology. COGAIN will also contribute to bringing down the price of eye tracking technology of existing devices and by developing alternatives for everyday use at home and on the move.