Article

Free access

Identifying fixations and saccades in eye-tracking protocols

Authors:

Dario D. Salvucci,

Joseph H. GoldbergAuthors Info & Claims

ETRA '00: Proceedings of the 2000 symposium on Eye tracking research & applications

Pages 71 - 78

https://doi.org/10.1145/355017.355028

Published: 08 November 2000 Publication History

Abstract

The process of fixation identification—separating and labeling fixations and saccades in eye-tracking protocols—is an essential part of eye-movement data analysis and can have a dramatic impact on higher-level analyses. However, algorithms for performing fixation identification are often described informally and rarely compared in a meaningful way. In this paper we propose a taxonomy of fixation identification algorithms that classifies algorithms in terms of how they utilize spatial and temporal information in eye-tracking protocols. Using this taxonomy, we describe five algorithms that are representative of different classes in the taxonomy and are based on commonly employed techniques. We then evaluate and compare these algorithms with respect to a number of qualitative characteristics. The results of these comparisons offer interesting implications for the use of the various algorithms in future work.

References

[1]

Alpern, M. (1962). Type of movement. In H. Davson (Ed.), The Eye, Vol. 3. (pp, 63-151). New York: Academic Press.

[2]

Camerini, P. M., 13albiati, 13, & Maffioli, F. (1988). Algorithms for finding optimum trees: Description, use and evaluation. Annals of Operations Research, 13, 265- 397.

[3]

DenBuurman, R., Boersma, T., & Gerrisen, J. F. (1981). Eye movements and the perceptual span in reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 16, 227-235.

[4]

Ditchburn, R. W. (1980). The function of small saccades. Vision Research, 20, 271-272.

[5]

Erkelens, C. J., & Vogels, I. M. L. C. (1995). The initial direction and landing position of saccades. In J. M. Findiay, R. Walker, & R. W. Kentridge (Eds.), Eye Movement Research: Mechanisms, Processes, and Applications (pp. 133-144). New York: Elsevier.

[6]

Fuchs, A. F. (1971). The saccadic system. In P. Bach-y- Rita, C. C. Collins, & J. E. Hyde (Eds.), The Control of Eye Movements (pp. 343-362). New York: Academic Press.

[7]

Goldberg, J. H, & Schryver, J. C. (1995). Eye-gazecontingent control of the computer interface: Methodology and example for zoom detection. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 27, 338- 350.

[8]

Hartigan, J. A. (1975). Clustering algorithms. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Digital Library

[9]

Just, M. A., & Carpenter, P. A. (1984). Using eye fixations to study reading comprehension. In D. E. Kieras & M. A. Just (Eds.), New Methods in Reading Comprehension Research (pp. 151-182). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

[10]

Karsh, R., & Breitenbach, F. W. (1983). Looking at looking: The amorphous fixation measure. In R, Groner, C. Menz, D. F. Fisher, & R. A. Monty (Eds.), Eye Movements and Psychological Functions: International Views (pp. 53-64). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

[11]

Land, M. F., & Lee, D. N. (1994). Where we look when we steer. Nature, 369, 742-744.

[12]

Noton, D., & Stark, L. (1971). Scanpaths in saccadic eye movements while viewing and recognizing patterns. Vision Research, 11, 929-942.

[13]

Rabiner, L. R. (1989). A tutorial on hidden Markov models and selected applications in speech recognition. Proceedings of the IEEE, 77, 257-286.

[14]

Rayner, K. (1995). Eye movements and cognitive processes in reading, visual search, and scene perception. In J. M. Findlay, R. Walker, & R. W. Kentridge (Eds.), Eye Movement Research: Mechanisms, Processes, and Applications (pp. 3-21). New York: Elsevier.

[15]

Salvucci, D. D. (1999). Mapping eye movements to cognitive processes. Doctoral Dissertation, Department of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University.

Digital Library

[16]

Salvucci, D. D., & Anderson, J. R. (1998). Tracing eye movement protocols with cognitive process models. In Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 923-928). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

[17]

Salvucci, D. D., & Anderson, J. R. (in press). Integrating analogical mapping and general problem solving: The path-mapping theory. Cognitive Science.

[18]

Sen, T., & Megaw, T. (1984). The effects of task variables and prolonged performance on saccadie eye movement parameters. In A. G. Gale & F. Johnson (Eds.), Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Eye Movement Research (pp. 103-111). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

[19]

Stark, L., & Ellis, S. R. (1981). Scanpath revisited: Cognitive models of direct active looking. In D. F. Fisher, R. A. Monty, & J. W. Senders (Eds.), Eye Movements: Cognition and Visual Perception (pp. 193- 226). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

[20]

Suppes, P. (1990). Eye-movement models for arithmetic and reading performance. In E. Kowler (Ed.), Eye Movements and their Role in Visual and Cognitive Processes (pp. 455-477). New York: Elsevier.

[21]

Widdel, H. (1984). Operational problems in analysing eye movements. In A. 13. Gale & F. Johnson (Eds.), Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Eye Movement Research (pp. 21-29). New York: Elsevier.

Cited By

YAMANAKA ONIBE RNAKAZAWA KYAMAMOTO YKAWAI WKYUTOKU YDAN I(2025)Visual Recognizability Evaluation for Brand Logos Using Covert Eye Tracking (CovET) Combined with a Go/No-go TaskInternational Journal of Affective Engineering10.5057/ijae.IJAE-D-24-0001924:1(15-28)Online publication date: 2025
https://doi.org/10.5057/ijae.IJAE-D-24-00019
Hooge INuthmann ANyström MNiehorster DHolleman GAndersson RHessels R(2025)The fundamentals of eye tracking part 2: From research question to operationalizationBehavior Research Methods10.3758/s13428-024-02590-257:2Online publication date: 24-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-024-02590-2
Nyström MHooge IHessels RAndersson RHansen DJohansson RNiehorster D(2025)The fundamentals of eye tracking part 3: How to choose an eye trackerBehavior Research Methods10.3758/s13428-024-02587-x57:2Online publication date: 22-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-024-02587-x
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Identifying fixations and saccades in eye-tracking protocols
1. Applied computing
  1. Life and medical sciences
    1. Consumer health
    2. Health informatics
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)

Recommendations

Automatic eye fixations identification based on analysis of variance and covariance

Eye movement is the simplest and repetitive movement that enables humans to interact with the environment. The common daily activities, such as reading a book or watching television, involve this natural activity, which consists of rapidly shifting our ...
Identifying Fixations in Gaze Data via Inner Density and Optimization
Eye tracking is an increasingly common technology with a variety of practical uses. Eye-tracking data, or gaze data, can be categorized into two main events: fixations represent focused eye movement, indicative of awareness and attention, whereas saccades ...
Measuring Focused Attention Using Fixation Inner-Density
Augmented Cognition: Users and Contexts
Abstract
Examining user reactions via the unobtrusive method of eye tracking is becoming increasingly popular in user experience studies. A major focus of this type of research is accurately capturing user attention to stimuli, which is typically ...

Comments

Please enable JavaScript to view thecomments powered by Disqus.

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image ACM Conferences

ETRA '00: Proceedings of the 2000 symposium on Eye tracking research & applications

November 2000

147 pages

ISBN:1581132808

DOI:10.1145/355017

Chairman:
Andrew T. Duchowski
Clemson Univ., Clemson, SC

Copyright © 2000 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

Sponsors

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 08 November 2000

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Request Permissions

Check for updates

Author Tags

Qualifiers

Article

Conference

ETRA00

Sponsor:

ETRA00: Eye Tracking Research & Application

November 6 - 8, 2000

Florida, Palm Beach Gardens, USA

Acceptance Rates

ETRA '00 Paper Acceptance Rate 18 of 29 submissions, 62%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 69 of 137 submissions, 50%

Upcoming Conference

Contributors

Other Metrics

View Article Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

1,301
Total Citations
View Citations
17,624
Total Downloads

Downloads (Last 12 months)3,287
Downloads (Last 6 weeks)334

Reflects downloads up to 01 Feb 2025

Other Metrics

View Author Metrics

Citations

Cited By

YAMANAKA ONIBE RNAKAZAWA KYAMAMOTO YKAWAI WKYUTOKU YDAN I(2025)Visual Recognizability Evaluation for Brand Logos Using Covert Eye Tracking (CovET) Combined with a Go/No-go TaskInternational Journal of Affective Engineering10.5057/ijae.IJAE-D-24-0001924:1(15-28)Online publication date: 2025
https://doi.org/10.5057/ijae.IJAE-D-24-00019
Hooge INuthmann ANyström MNiehorster DHolleman GAndersson RHessels R(2025)The fundamentals of eye tracking part 2: From research question to operationalizationBehavior Research Methods10.3758/s13428-024-02590-257:2Online publication date: 24-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-024-02590-2
Nyström MHooge IHessels RAndersson RHansen DJohansson RNiehorster D(2025)The fundamentals of eye tracking part 3: How to choose an eye trackerBehavior Research Methods10.3758/s13428-024-02587-x57:2Online publication date: 22-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-024-02587-x
Niehorster DNyström MHessels RAndersson RBenjamins JHansen DHooge I(2025)The fundamentals of eye tracking part 4: Tools for conducting an eye tracking studyBehavior Research Methods10.3758/s13428-024-02529-757:1Online publication date: 6-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-024-02529-7
Koo SCha EMin JSeo ELee EAn S(2025)Eye tracking based clustering using the Korean version of the reading the mind in the eyes testScientific Reports10.1038/s41598-025-88483-615:1Online publication date: 31-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88483-6
Koniakowsky IForster YWiedemann KNaujoks FKrems JKeinath A(2025)The effectiveness of driver monitoring systems in mitigating visual distraction depends on secondary task complexity and experience − A driving simulator studyTransportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour10.1016/j.trf.2024.12.008109(125-136)Online publication date: Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2024.12.008
Kennel KIshimaru SKüchemann SSteinert SKuhn JRuzika S(2025)Gaze-Based Prediction of Students’ Math Difficulties - A Time Dynamic Machine Learning Approach to Enable Early Individual AssistanceInternational Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education10.1007/s40593-024-00447-5Online publication date: 22-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-024-00447-5
Wedel MPieters Rvan der Lans R(2025)Modeling Eye Movements During Decision Making: A ReviewPsychometrika10.1007/s11336-022-09876-488:2(697-729)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11336-022-09876-4
Costa LPassos AZagalo N(2025)Behind Two Stories to Tell: An Evaluation Study of the Camera Perspective in the Game Mutation MadnessVideogame Sciences and Arts10.1007/978-3-031-81713-7_3(40-51)Online publication date: 2-Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-81713-7_3
Zhou YNishimura MKawabata H(2025)Gaze behavior when looking at paintings may predict autistic traitsPsyCh Journal10.1002/pchj.810Online publication date: 6-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.810
Show More Cited By

View Options

View options

PDF

View or Download as a PDF file.

eReader

View online with eReader.

Login options

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Full Access

Get this Publication

Figures

Tables

Media

View Table of Conten