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The human eye as human-machine interface

Abstract

Eye tracking as an interface to operate a computer is under research for a while and new systems are still being developed nowadays that provide some encouragement to those bound to illnesses that incapacitates them to use any other form of interaction with a computer. Although using computer vision processing and a camera, these systems are usually based on head mount technology being considered a contact type system. This paper describes the implementation of a human-computer interface based on a fully non-contact eye tracking vision system in order to allow people with tetraplegia to interface with a computer. As an assistive technology, a graphical user interface with special features was developed including a virtual keyboard to allow user communication, fast access to pre-stored phrases and multimedia and even internet browsing. This system was developed with the focus on low cost, user friendly functionality and user independency and autonomy.The authors would like to thank the important contributions of Mr. Abel, his wife and Mr. Sampaio for the success of this work. This work was supported by the Automation and Robotics Laboratory from the Algoritmi Research Center at the University of Minho in Guimaraes. This work is funded by FEDER through the Operational Competitiveness Programme — COMPETE — and by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology — FCT — in the scope of project: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022674

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