Using eyes as an input modality for different control environments is a great area of interest for enhancing the bandwidth of human machine interaction and providing interaction functions when the use of hands is not possible. Interface design requirements in such implementations are quite different from conventional application areas. Both command-execution and feedback observation tasks may be performed by human eyes simultaneously. In order to control the motion of a mobile robot by operator gaze interaction, gaze contingent regions in the operator interface are used to execute robot movement commands, with different screen areas controlling specific directions. Dwell time is one of the most established techniques to perform an eye-click analogous to a mouse click. But repeated dwell time while switching between gaze-contingent regions and feedback-regions decreases the performance of the application. We have developed a dynamic gaze-contingent interface in which we merge gaze-contingent regions with feedback-regions dynamically. This technique has two advantages: Firstly it improves the overall performance of the system by eliminating repeated dwell time. Secondly it reduces fatigue of the operator by providing a bigger area to fixate in. The operator can monitor feedback with more ease while sending commands at the same time.

Interactive 3D computer graphics requires a lot of computational resources to render a high quality frame. Typically the process of rendering a frame assumes a naïve approach that the whole frame can be perceived by the user in uniform detail. This is often not true, within 2° horizontal eccentricity from point of gaze is where one can primarily perceive details. Adjusting the quality of a frame based on the visual acuity can increase rendering performance by a factor of five to six at the resolution 1920x1080 without sacrificing perceived quality (Guenter et al., 2012a). Doing so without the user being aware of the manipulation requires a highly sophisticated system with low system latency able to update the display fast enough. The current study aims to answer what system latency is required to support passive gaze-contingent techniques that requires close to real-time gaze data. A unique experiment design was developed exposing test subjects to different system latencies by varying eye-tracker and monitor frequency. The outcome from the current study with 20 participants indicates a configuration with the estimated worst case system latency of 60ms is capable of hiding manipulation for 55% of the participants. Lowering the worst case system latency to 42ms and 95% of the participants reported that they could not detect any change. The study concludes that the configuration with estimated worst case system latency of 42ms is able to support passive gaze-contingent techniques. / Interaktiv 3D datorgrafik kräver mycket dataresurser för att producera en högkvalitativ bildruta. Den typiska processen att producera en bildruta antar det naiva antagandet att hela bildrutan kan uppfattas av användaren i enhetlig detalj. Detta antagande är ofta inte sant. Mänskliga ögat kan uppfatta detaljer i 2° horisontell vinkel från blickfokus med minskande detaljrikedom i ökande vinkel. Att anpassa kvaliteten på en bildruta baserat på detta kan öka renderingsprestanda med en faktor 5-6 vid upplösningen 1920x1080, utan att minska på den subjektivt upplevda kvaliteten (Guenter et al., 2012a). Att kunna göra det utan att användaren är medveten om manipulation kräver ett mycket sofistikerat system med låg system latens för att uppdatera displayen tillräckligt snabbt. Denna studie syftar till att svara på vad för system latens som krävs för att stödja tekniker som kräver nära realtid blick uppgifter. Studien presenterar ett unikt experiment där testpersoner exponeras för olika system latenser genom att variera både skärm och ögonspårnings frekvenser. Resultatet från studien som baseras på 20 deltagare visar att en konfiguration med estimerad värsta fall system latens på 60ms kan dölja manipulation för 55% av deltagarna. Vid 42ms system latens i värsta fall uppgav 95% av deltagarna att de inte kunde upptäcka någon förändring. Studien drar slutsatsen att konfigurationen med beräknade värsta fall systemet latens på 42ms kan stödja passiva blickberoende tekniker. / <p>Mobile: 073-2420226 Email: robin@thunstroem.com</p>

This master thesis is done at CrossControl, a company in the automation industry. A literature review was done covering state of the art technology of eye-tracking and gaze control and how it can be used in the automation industry. One purpose with the study was to indentify features important for an eye-tracker in automation applications. Findings suggests that there are no standard methods for measuring the performance of trackers and further that performance in regard to gaze control is limited by physiology of the eye rather than limitations of the devices. The differences between trackers are found in robustness when it comes to differences in people or conditions in the environment. A prototype was made for demonstration. The prototype was built on equipment used in the industry combined with an eye-tracker from Tobii. A library, where coordinates from the eye-tracker were used to indicate what object in the interface was gazed upon, was implemented and used to demonstrate concepts such as buttons outside the screen activated by gaze.

Syftet för den här studien är att ta reda på hur och till vilken grad filmskapare kan styra tittarens perception genom skärpeanvändning utan att tittaren upplever sig kontrollerad. Metoden för studien har varit att genomföra ett experiment med eye-tracking för att ta reda på studiens problemställning och om våra hypoteser stämmer överens med verkligheten. Problemet vi ser och vill ta reda på är att kamerans fokus är olik människans, och hur man som filmskapare kan utveckla användandet av fokus i bildproduktion. Resultatet är att skärpan har en tydlig roll i hur vi ser på rörliga bilder och att den kan styra tittaren till en viss grad. Vår slutsats är att man kan styra tittaren med hjälp av fokusförändringar, men att vi behöver gå vidare med studien för att till exempel söka svar på var gränsen går för att kunna leda tittarens uppmärksamhet genom alternativ skärpeanvändning; utan att få personen att känna sig styrd.

Context. Gaze based interaction in video games is still a developing field, and is mostly used as an off-line evaluation tool or a replacement for traditional input methods. This thesis will look closer at the prospect of using eye tracking as an additional input to be used alongside the traditional methods of input to improve the immersion and performance of the player. Objectives. To implement a gaze based interaction method into arst person adventure in a way to improve player performance and immersion. Method. Using the Tobii REX eye tracker, 18 volunteers participated in an experiment. They played two versions of a game in an controlled environment. The versions had the same mechanics and game elements but only one of them had eye tracking implemented. After the experiment the participants answered nine questions about which prototype they preferred. Results. All participants' scores were in all cases but one, lower when using the eye tracking input method, compared to the traditional one.The time it took for the participants to complete the game was longer for everybody. 16 out of 18 players also felt more immersed in the game while using eye tracking compared to playing with the traditional input method. Conclusions. The results from the experiments provided evidence that the interaction method designed for this thesis did not improve player performance. The results also showed that the interaction method did improve immersion for most players.

Lager på lager är ett examensarbete i informationsdesign med inriktning rumslig gestaltning i samarbete med Västerås konstmuseum. Projektet går ut på att förtydliga och synliggöra stadens offentliga konstverk med hjälp av olika typer av tillägg eller gestaltningar. Många av stadens offentliga konstverk besitter mycket föråldrade budskap och normer som inte stämmer överens med dagens samhällsnormer och värderingar.   Mitt arbete syftar till att skapa förståelse för hur ett offentligt konstverk kan bli synligt och samtidigt skapa en ifrågasättande attityd till en skulpturs grundläggande normer. Med stöd av litteratur och resultat från omvärldsanalys, rumsliganalys, formalanalys och en observation har jag tagit fram ett gestaltningsförslag som jag applicerat vid konstverket Eva som är en skulptur i Botaniska trädgården i Västerås. Eva föreställer en kvinna som med ett passivt uttryck poserar naket.   Med hjälp av min gestaltning kommer Eva som konstverk och hennes inneboende normer och budskap synliggöras för att få fler människor att uppmärksamma dem. Något som förhoppningsvis både kan skapa intresse och debatt.

In the thesis, the authors investigate how the women in the videogame Grand Theft Auto V are being portrayed in three different walkthrough videos on YouTube. With the aid of theorist Mieke Bal and her narratology terms, the authors of the thesis can examine the characters. The academic theories used for the thesis are gender, representation, videogame and the male gaze, as well as narratology. The issues being handled in this study are meant to answer how the portrayal of women characters are, and how the different portrayals differ from the represented characters. The third issue describes how women are being treated by the protagonists in the videogame. Over the course of the study, the authors found that the majority of the characters are described as flat in the videogame, and maintains a stereotypical image. This stereotypical portrayal commence from sexual references and treatment from the protagonists. However, a few characters can be described as round. These characters develops with time. There are also examples from the study that shows that there are characters who portray a dominant personality, therefore breaking the common pattern.

While previous studies have examined the educational system in Ghana, there seemed to be very little or no studies that had explored participation and engagement through teacher-child interactions in early childhood education in Ghanaian classrooms (Twum-Danso, 2013). The purpose of this video-based multiple case studies qualitative study of three Kindergarten classrooms in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana was to identify verbal and nonverbal prompts that related to children’s participation in Ghanaian Kindergarten classroom settings. The data for the study were secondary, having been collected by a team of researchers for the New Civics Grant Program in an initial study to find apprenticeship and civic themes in Ghanaian Kindergarten classrooms. The design for the study was a qualitative video analysis of three early childhood centers in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana using video cameras to capture classroom interactions to be able to answer the questions: What is the nature of Ghanaian Kindergarten teachers’ verbal and non-verbal prompts that relate to children’s participation during the instructional process? In what ways do children in Ghanaian Kindergartens participate during the instructional process? I applied the sociocultural perspective of Rogoff’s (1990, 1993, 2003) three foci of analysis that provided a useful conceptual tool for analyzing research with young children (Robbin, 2007). It highlights how children’s thinking is integrated with and constituted by contexts, collaboration, and signs and cultural tools (p. 48). The findings indicated that Ghanaian Kindergarten teachers’ verbal and nonverbal prompts that related to children’s participation during the instructional process were the use of questions, appreciation, gestures etc. The findings also showed that the ways in which Ghanaian Kindergarten children participated during the instructional process were verbal/oral responses, doing exercises and activities, and also using gestures. It was also found that pedagogical attitudes such as pedagogical sensitivity and understanding, discussion and conversation, and rules and management related to children’s participation during the instructional process. Ghanaian specific culturally relevant ways and practices of interactions between teachers and children were observed in the participant schools. Teachers used silence to convey messages of disapproval to the children, used eyeing to send messages of disapproval, and also used punishments and rewards to either encourage good behavior or stop bad behavior. Singing and dancing, building classroom community, and value on interpersonal connections were also found to be Ghanaian specific culturally relevant ways of interactions that teachers applied to the classroom interactions. All the teachers in the participant schools showed various forms of appreciation to the children as a way of reinforcing their behaviors and also for praise and redirection of attention. From the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made: 1. Pre service teacher preparation, and teacher education in general should be reorganized so that the contexts in which the teachers operate will then be guided by contextually relevant pedagogy (Young, 2010). Ghana needs a type of pedagogy that will empower teachers intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes (p. 248). 2. The provision of adequate teaching and learning materials would enable teachers engage children more on exercises and activities during the instructional process. The materials would help teachers to provide enough activities to engage the children’s attention during the instructional process. 3. Ghanaian specific culturally relevant ways of interactions between teachers and children must be taught as a course at the University of Cape Coast to help in the preparation of pre-service teachers.

This study aims at exploring the motivation that drives tourists to townships. The theories that were chosen as the theoretical base of this study were the push and pull theory, the Travel Career Ladder, authenticity and the tourist gaze. Three research questions were asked around the theory base and a survey was done of 100 tourists in selected locations within Soweto. Results obtained from the respondents allowed for statistical analysis. The results indicated that the township tourists were intrinsically motivated and were driven by affiliation needs. Furthermore, the tourists that initially visited Soweto were motivated by authenticity; however, as the amount of tourism in the area grew, the tourist gaze became the more dominant form of motivation. The implications of the study findings are discussed. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

People with presbyacusis commonly report difficulties in conversation in everyday settings. Although previous research has focused on self-report inventories concerning conversation difficulties in age related hearing difficulties, there is a lack of published work describing the interactions between people with presbyacusis and their conversational partners. The aim of this study is to describe conversational interactions between people with presbyacusis and their main everyday conversational partner and to determine whether there is evidence of change in interaction before and after the fitting of hearing aids. Ten participants recruited from a larger cohort were included in this study, consisting of 5 participants with diagnosed presbyacusis and 5 frequent conversation partners. A battery of audiological assessments was completed for each participant with presbyacusis. Each participant with presbyacusis was videotaped in conversation at home with their main everyday conversational partner: once before hearing aid fitting and once two months following hearing aid fitting. The conversational interactions before and after hearing aid fitting were analysed using Conversation Analysis. The results of the study revealed that both the people with presbyacusis and the conversation partners used patterns of interaction in instances of mishearings in conversation. The person with presbyacusis shifted gaze direction to show a need for repair. In addition, the conversation partner used physical prompting to gain gaze directed attention from the person with presbyacusis. The person with presbyacusis also made verbal requests for a repair as a result of mishearings. These patterns in interaction showed co-ordination and timing of the repair recognition, initiation and completion by both parties. The phenomena uncovered in this study indicate that the responsibility to monitor and maintain conversation was increasingly placed on the conversation partner of the person with presbyacusis. This could explain why people with presbyacusis and their conversation partners frequently complain of frustration in conversation activities. In the postamplification conversations, no mishearings occurred, suggesting a trend towards fewer mishearings on conversation as a result of amplification of hearing. The research findings contribute to the evidence base concerning the real benefit of digital hearing aids to these elderly clients. The findings of this study can be used to design assessment and intervention tools in the future. / Dissertation (M (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / M (Communication Pathology) / Unrestricted