Communications of the ACM
Hmi ses Human Eye to Control Robot-Mounted Cameras
The EyeSeeCam uses an eye-tracking system to direct a head-mounted camera, so the camera follows wherever the wearer's eyes look.
Credit: Johannes Vockeroth on Vimeo
A new human-machine interface enables users to control cameras mounted on a remote robot with their eye movements. The system combines advanced eye-tracking technology with fast piezoelectric actuators connected to an artificial eye.
"We have a human operator who sees what the robot sees — he can control the head and eyes of the robot with his own head and eyes, and can interact through the robot in a kind of Wizard of Oz experience, sitting inside the robot," says Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich's Stefan Kohlbecher.
The mobile system is designed to track eye movements in three dimensions with a frequency of 600Hz, using infrared detectors coupled with a mirror that reflects infrared wavelengths but lets visible light through. "This is how the detectors get a clear image of the eye and the pupil's movements, but the wearer is not obstructed by the camera," Kohlbecher says. The eye-tracking information is then processed and fed into a camera that is controlled by piezo actuators, which contain a special ceramic composite that changes shape upon an electrical current.
Kohlbecher says the system could be used for vision and cognitive research, to teach surgical students where they should be looking during an operation, in robots involved in exploration and disaster relief, and to create more realistic robots.
From The Engineer
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