What is the title of your research project?
REACH
Who is involved in the project?
LaS³, OTH Regensburg in collaboration with WaveEye UG and Optomech GmbH
What is your researchproject?
In the REACH project, WaveEye UG, Optomech GmbH and OTH Regensburg are jointly developing eye-tracking laser glasses for remote collaboration, in which a wearer on site and a remote engineer communicate via the visualised point of gaze and a laser pointer. The OTH’s part of the project investigates how accurate and user-friendly (usability, UX) these glasses are, and whether a remote engineer can reliably identify which object the wearer is currently looking at. To this end, accuracy and usability studies have been and are being carried out with test subjects, and comparisons are being made with commercially available glasses (Tobii, Pupil Labs). The aim is to provide the project partners with well-founded, practical recommendations for technology selection, interaction concepts and prototype design.
What excites you about the project?
What is particularly appealing is the close link between fundamental research and immediate practical relevance: from scientific metrics (DIN EN ISO 9241, eye-tracking metrics), we derive concrete, measurable recommendations for action for a real-world product. Another exciting aspect is our own methodological contribution – a tool we have developed ourselves for frame-accurate accuracy analysis, as well as software for simulating realistic usability scenarios (latency, smoothing filters and other parameters). What is particularly fascinating is the interplay between human perception, technology and mathematics, ranging from the geometry of gaze vectors to the software setup. The immediate impact is also inspiring, as our findings on smoothing windows, latency limits and calibration are being directly incorporated into our partners’ hardware and software development. Last but not least, the harmonious, complementary collaboration within the consortium makes the project work exceptionally motivating.
How can insights from the project be applied in practice?
REACH is designed to be practical from the outset, as it involves industrial research with prototype development that is ultimately intended to result in a marketable product, and OTH provides direct input for the product and prototype design. The studies thus yield specific design specifications for the REACH prototype (e.g. offset calibration, self-gaze mode, latency budget). In addition, the results provide practical recommendations on working distance, lighting, duration of use and limitations in peripheral areas, whilst the comparison of eye-tracking systems (Tobii vs. Pupil Labs) supports the partners in making well-informed technology decisions. This substantially mitigates the fundamental risks associated with eye-tracking that is too imprecise or too slow, and provides practical evidence of the reliable remote identification of viewed objects. Beyond eye-tracking and laser-assisted remote maintenance, the findings are transferable to applications such as training, quality assurance and telecollaboration in industry, and are also being published in scientific journals.
On our website, you will find an overview of OTH Regensburg’s current funded projects.
