Voluntary pupil size change as control in eyes only interaction

We investigate consciously controlled pupil size as an input modality. Pupil size is affected by various processes, e.g., physical activation, strong emotional experiences and cognitive effort. Our hypothesis is that given continuous feedback, users can learn to control pupil size via physical and psychological self-regulation. We test it by measuring the magnitude of self evoked pupil size changes following seven different instructions, while providing real time graphical feedback on pupil size. Results show that some types of voluntary effort affect pupil size on a statistically significant level. A second controlled experiment confirms that subjects can produce pupil dilation and constriction on demand during paced tasks. Applications and limitations to using voluntary pupil size manipulation as an input modality are discussed. ACM Classification Keywords H.5.2 User Interfaces: Input devices and strategies, Interaction styles Keywords Pupil size, affective computing, input modality...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: ETRA
• Authors: Inger Ekman, Antti Poikola, Meeri Mäkäräinen, Tapio Takala, Perttu Hämäläinen
• Keywords: Biometrics, ETRA 2008, Input Modality, Pupil Size, Pupil Size Changes