A fast approach to refraction-aware eye-model fitting and gaze prediction

Abstract

By temporally integrating information about pupil contours extracted from eye images, model-based methods for glint-free gaze estimation can mitigate pupil detection noise. However, current approaches require time-consuming iterative solving of a nonlinear minimization problem to estimate key parameters, such as eyeball position. Based on the method presented by [Swirski and Dodgson 2013], we propose a novel approach to glint-free 3D eye-model fitting and gaze prediction using a single near-eye camera. By recasting model optimization as a least-squares intersection of lines, we make it amenable to a fast non-iterative solution. We further present a method for estimating deterministic refraction-correction functions from synthetic eye images and validate them on both synthetic and real eye images. We demonstrate the robustness of our method in the presence of pupil detection noise and show the benefit of temporal integration of pupil contour information on eyeball position and gaze estimation accuracy.