Eye gaze determination

Abstract

There is provided methods, systems and computer program products for identifying an interaction element from one or more interaction elements present in a user interface, comprising: receiving gaze information from an eye tracking system; determining the likelihood that an interaction element is the subject of the gaze information from the eye tracking system; and identifying an interaction element from the one or more interaction elements based on said likelihood determination.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method for providing a gaze-controlled interface, wherein the method comprises:
 determining a gaze position of a user on a display showing a first interaction element and a second interaction element;   assigning a first weight value to the first interaction element based at least in part on the gaze position of the user and at least one property of the first interaction element;   assigning a second weight value to the second interaction element based at least in part on the gaze position of the user and at least one property of the second interaction element;   selecting the first interaction element based at least in part on the first weight value exceeding the second weight value;   determining a threshold value; and   selecting the second interaction element based at least in part on the second weight value exceeding the first weight value by at least the threshold value.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein determining the threshold value comprises:
 retrieving a preset value from a memory device.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein determining the threshold value comprises:
 calculating the threshold value in real-time.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein calculating the threshold value is based on at least one selection from a group consisting of:
 a property of the gaze-controlled interface;   a property of the first interaction element;   a property of the second interaction element;   a psychological property of the user;   a physiological property of the user;   a detected sound; and   a gaze offset.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein adjusting the threshold value is based on at least one selection from a group consisting of:
 a detected sound;   a gaze offset;   the first weight value; and   the second weight value.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 adjusting the threshold value.   
     
     
         8 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:
 determining a gaze position of a user on a display showing a first interaction element and a second interaction element;   assigning a first weight value to the first interaction element based at least in part on the gaze position of the user and at least one property of the first interaction element;   assigning a second weight value to the second interaction element based at least in part on the gaze position of the user and at least one property of the second interaction element;   selecting the first interaction element based at least in part on the first weight value exceeding the second weight value;   determining a threshold value; and   selecting the second interaction element based at least in part on the second weight value exceeding the first weight value by at least the threshold value.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one property of the first interaction element or the second interaction element are based on at least one selection from a group consisting of:
 intended use;   visual context;   interaction context; and   data indicating how often the user interacts with each interaction element.   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein determining the threshold value comprises determining a threshold value based on at least one selection from a group consisting of:
 a property of display;   a property of the first interaction element;   a property of the second interaction element;   a psychological property of the user;   a physiological property of the user;   a detected sound; and   a gaze offset.   
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein determining the threshold value comprises:
 accessing a pre-determined value.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 adjusting the threshold value based on at least one property.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein adjusting the threshold value is based on at least one property selected from:
 a detected sound;   a gaze offset;   the first weight value; and   the second weight value.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 storing information related to selection of either the first interaction element and second interaction element; and   wherein selecting the first interaction element further comprises comparing a selection to stored information of a previous selection.   
     
     
         15 . A system for gaze-controlling an interface comprising:
 an eye tracking device;   a display showing a first interaction element and a second interaction element; and   at least one processor for:
 determining a gaze target area of a user on the display using the eye tracking device; 
 assigning a first weight value to the first interaction element; 
 assigning a second weight value to the second interaction element; 
 selecting the first interaction element based at least in part on the first weight value exceeding the second weight value; 
 determining a threshold value; and 
 selecting the second interaction element based at least in part on the second weight value exceeding the first weight value by at least the threshold value. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein:
 assigning a first weight value to the first interaction element is based at least in part on the gaze target area of the user and at least one property of the first interaction element; and   assigning a second weight value to the second interaction element is based at least in part on the gaze target area of the user and at least one property of the second interaction element.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one property of the first interaction element and the second interaction element are based on at least one selection from a group consisting of:
 intended use;   visual context;   interaction context; and   data indicating how often the user interacts with each interaction element.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein determining the threshold value comprises selecting a predetermined value from a memory device. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the threshold value is calculated based on a property of the system. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the property of the system is based on at least one selection from a group consisting of:
 a property of the gaze-controlled interface;   a property of the first interaction element;   a property of the second interaction element;   a psychological property of the user;   a physiological property of the user;   a detected sound; and   a gaze offset.   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein:
 selecting the first interaction element is further based at least in part on previous selection data.