EyeLinks

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a novel gaze-only interaction technique called EyeLinks, which was designed i) to support various types of discrete clickables (e.g. textual links, buttons, images, tabs, etc.); ii) to be easy to learn and use; iii) to mitigate the inaccuracy of affordable eye trackers. Our technique uses a two-step fixation approach: first, we assign numeric identifiers to clickables in the region where users gaze at and second, users select the desired clickable by performing a fixation on the corresponding confirm button, displayed in a sidebar. This two-step selection enables users to freely explore Web pages, avoids the Midas touch problem and improves accuracy. We evaluated our approach by comparing it against the mouse and another gaze-only technique (Actigaze). The results showed no statistically significant difference between EyeLinks and Actigaze, but users considered EyeLinks easier to learn and use than Actigaze and it was also the most preferred. Of the three, the mouse was the most accurate and efficient technique.