Colloquium Cognitive Systems

Demystifying eye tracking: can eye trackers measure (binocular) eye movements?

Marcus Nyström (Lund University, Sweden)

Abstract. Video-based pupil and corneal reflection (PCR) eye tracking has been the dominating principle for recording eye movements over the past decades. I will talk about the strengths and weaknesses of PCR eye tracking in the context of measuring binocular eye movements, and provide examples of situations where it is crucial to know the limitations of your eye tracker to obtain valid and reproducible results. Furthermore, since most commercial eye trackers are ‘black boxes’, I will present our efforts to develop an open system that we use to address specific questions where knowledge of the inner workings of the eye tracker is required.

Bio. Marcus Nyström is Associate Professor of Ergonomics (2015) and has a PhD in Information Theory (2008). His research interests include visual perception and cognition, learning, eye movements, and eye tracking - all with an interdisciplinary focus. Of particular interest are questions that concern why we move our eyes to certain locations in the environment, and how this is modulated by factors such as physical properties of the environment, expertise, disorders, and cognitive state. Nyström is also interested in how the research methods and instrumentation can influence the outcome of a study, and works on developing techniques and methods to better describe and understand eye movement data. He has co-authored the book “Eye tracking: a comprehensive guide to methods and measures”.