New eye tracking techniques improve realism of aircraft.
A simulated flight environment for pilot training may soon .
be made more realistic through the use of eye-tracking .
technology developed by researchers at the University of .
Toronto's Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IMBE). .
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Many safety and cost benefits are obtained by training aircraft .
pilots under simulated conditions, but to be effective the .
simulation must be convicingly realistic. At present, the .
training facilities use large domes and gimballed projectors, or .
an array of video screens, to display computer-generated images. .
But these installations are very expensive and image resolution .
is low. Further, it would take an enormous amount of addi to .
improve image quality significantly throughout the whole viewed .
scene. .
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However, based on the visual properties of the eye, realism can .
be obtained by providing a high-resolution 'area of interest' .
insert within a large, low-resolution field of view. If the .
image-generating computer 'knows' where the pilot's fixation is, .
it mage there. .
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The technology to make this possible was developed by a research .
team headed by Professor Richard Frecker and Professor Moshe .
Eizenman. The work was carried out in collaboration with CAE .
Electronics Ltd. of Montreal with financial support from the .
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. .
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Their eye-tracker can record and analyze accurately up to 500 eye .
positions per second. The system works by means of capturing and .
processing the reflections of a low-level beam of invisible .
infra-red light shone onto the eye. .
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Multi-element arrays capture the image of the eye and digitize .
the information, which is then processed in real time by a fast, .
dedicated signal processing unit. The difference in position .
between the ligh tre of the pupil reveals the instantaneous .
direction of gaze. .
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Developments by the IBME team have significantly increased the .