Eye Gaze for Consumer Electronics: Controlling and commanding intelligent systems.

Over the last several years, there has been much research and investigation on finding new ways to interact with the smart systems that currently form an integral part of our lives. One of the most widely researched fields in human-computer interaction (HCI) has been the use of human eye gaze as an input modality to control and command intelligent systems. For example, gaze-based schemes for hands-free input to computers for text entry/scrolling/pointing was proposed as early as in 1989 for disabled persons [1]. In the field of commercial applications, gaze-based interactions have brought immersive experiences in the world of virtual gaming and multimedia entertainment [2]. Eye gaze is also a significant feature for detecting the attention and intent of an individual. For example, gaze tracking could be implemented in a car to detect driver consciousness or in a smartphone to switch operations by sensing user attentiveness. In this article, we discuss some existing applications that use human eye gaze as a vital cue for various consumer platforms. For each of the use cases, the utility and advantages as well as inherent limitations are discussed.