Application of Eye-Tracking for a 3-DOF Robot Assisted Medical System*

Abstract

Eye-tracking systems have evolved into robust data acquisition tools for a variety of use cases. Some cost-effective and demonstrably accurate systems are available on the market. The primary purpose of such systems remains the detection of gaze points on surfaces to determine the interest of individuals. Very few applications attempted to use this technology to control devices. In this paper, we analyze the possibilities of controlling robotic devices by eye-tracking in a medical context. In particular, this could be useful as an aid for paralyzed individuals. We propose a system that uses inertial measurement in addition to eye tracking to measure head movements and the main sub-functions of the system are tested. The tracking and guiding a system has been studied, indicating that eye-tracking can generally be used for controlling robotic devices. It has been shown that different head movements are distinguishable and therefore can be used to switch between different functions of the device.