Screening for Stereopsis Using an Eye-Tracking Glasses-Free Display in Adults: A Pilot Study

Purpose:To explore the feasibility and repeatability of a novel glasses-free display combined with random-dot stimulus and eye-tracking technology for screening stereopsis in adults.Methods:A total of 74 patients aged 18–44 years were recruited in this study (male: female, 32:42), including 33 patients with high myopia [≤ -6.0 diopters (D)] and 41 patients with moderate-to-low myopia (>-6.0 D). Stereopsis was measured using glasses-free, polarized, and Titmus stereotests. All patients completed a visual fatigue questionnaire after the polarized stereotest and glasses-free test. Kendall's W and Cohen's Kappa tests were used to evaluate repeatability and consistency of the glasses-free stereotest.Results:The stereotest results using the glasses-free monitor showed strong repeatability in the three consecutive tests (W = 0.968, P < 0.01) and good consistency with the polarized stereotest and Titmus test results (vs. polarization: Kappa = 0.910, P < 0.001; vs. Titmus: Kappa = 0.493, P < 0.001). Stereopsis levels of the high myopia group were significantly poorer than those of the moderate-to-low myopia group in three stereotest monitors (all P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in visual fatigue level between the polarized and the glasses-free display test (P = 0.72). Compared with the polarized test, 56.76% of patients preferred the glasses-free display and found it more comfortable, 20.27% reported both tests to be acceptable.Conclusions:In our adult patients, the new eye-tracking glasses-free display system feasibly screened stereopsis with good repeatability, consistency, and patient acceptance.

Exploring Visitors’ Visual Behavior Using Eye-Tracking: The Case of the “Studiolo Del Duca”

Although the understanding of cognitive disciplines has progressed, we know relatively little about how the human brain perceives art. Thanks to the growing interest in visual perception, eye-tracking technology has been increasingly used for studying the interaction between individuals and artworks. In this study, eye-tracking was used to provide insights into non-expert visitors’ visual behaviour as they move freely in the historical room of the “Studiolo del Duca” of the Ducal Palace in Urbino, Italy. Visitors looked for an average of almost two minutes. This study revealed which parts of the artefact captured visitors’ attention and also gives interesting information about the main patterns of fruition.

Observer Gaze Patterns of Patient Photos Pre- and Post-Facial Feminization

Background Human interaction begins with the visual evaluation of others, and this often centers on the face. Objective measurement of this evaluation gives clues to social perception. Objectives The objective was to use eye-tracking technology to evaluate if there are scanpath differences when observers view faces of men, women, and transgender women pre- and post-facial feminization surgery (FFS) including when assigning tasks assessing femininity, attractiveness, and likability. Methods Undergraduate psychology students were prospectively recruited as observers at a single institution. Using eye-tracking technology, they were presented frontal images of prototypical male, prototypical female, and pre- and post-FFS face photos in a random order and then with prompting to assess femininity, attractiveness, and likability. Results Twenty-seven observers performed the tasks. Participants focused their attention more on the central triangle of post-operative and prototypical female images and forehead of pre-operative and prototypical male images. Higher femininity ratings were associated with longer proportional fixations to the central triangle and lower proportional fixations to the forehead. Conclusions This preliminary study implies the scanpath for viewing a post-FFS face is closer to that for viewing a prototypical female than a prototypical male based on differences viewing the forehead and brow versus the central triangle.

The LHCb vertex locator upgrade — the detector calibration overview

The Vertex Locator (VELO) is a silicon tracking detector in the spectrometer of the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment. LHCb explores and investigates CP violation phenomena in b- and c- hadron decays and is one of the experiments operating on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. After run 1 and run 2 of LHC data taking (2011–2018), the LHCb detectors are being modernized within the LHCb upgrade I program. The upgrade aims to adjust the spectrometer to readout at full LHC 40 MHz frequency, which requires radical changes to the technologies currently used in LHCb. The hardware trigger is removed, and some of the detectors replaced. The VELO changes its tracking technology and silicon strips are replaced by 55 μm pitch silicon pixels. The readout chip for the VELO upgrade is the VeloPix ASIC. The number of readout channels increases to over 40 million, and the hottest ASIC is expected to produce the output data rate of 15 Gbit/s. New conditions challenge the software and the hardware side of the readout system and put special attention on the detector monitoring. This paper presents the upgraded VELO design and outlines the software aspects of the detector calibration in the upgrade I. An overview of the challenges foreseen for the upgrade II is given.

Individualization of Intensity Thresholds on External Workload Demands in Women’s Basketball by K-Means Clustering: Differences Based on the Competitive Level

In previous studies found in the literature speed (SP), acceleration (ACC), deceleration (DEC), and impact (IMP) zones have been created according to arbitrary thresholds without considering the specific workload profile of the players (e.g., sex, competitive level, sport discipline). The use of statistical methods based on raw data could be considered as an alternative to be able to individualize these thresholds. The study purposes were to: (a) individualize SP, ACC, DEC, and IMP zones in two female professional basketball teams; (b) characterize the external workload profile of 5 vs. 5 during training sessions; and (c) compare the external workload according to the competitive level (first vs. second division). Two basketball teams were recorded during a 15-day preseason microcycle using inertial devices with ultra-wideband indoor tracking technology and microsensors. The zones of external workload variables (speed, acceleration, deceleration, impacts) were categorized through k-means clusters. Competitive level differences were analyzed with Mann–Whitney’s U test and with Cohen’s d effect size. Five zones were categorized in speed (<2.31, 2.31–5.33, 5.34–9.32, 9.33–13.12, 13.13–17.08 km/h), acceleration (<0.50, 0.50–1.60, 1.61–2.87, 2.88–4.25, 4.26–6.71 m/s2), deceleration (<0.37, 0.37–1.13, 1.14–2.07, 2.08–3.23, 3.24–4.77 m/s2), and impacts (<1, 1–2.99, 3–4.99, 5–6.99, 7–10 g). The women’s basketball players covered 60–51 m/min, performed 27–25 ACC-DEC/min, and experienced 134–120 IMP/min. Differences were found between the first and second division teams, with higher values in SP, ACC, DEC, and IMP in the first division team (p < 0.03; d = 0.21–0.56). In conclusion, k-means clustering can be considered as an optimal tool to categorize intensity zones in team sports. The individualization of external workload demands according to the competitive level is fundamental for designing training plans that optimize sports performance and reduce injury risk in sport.

Designing Combinations of Pictogram and Text Size for Icons: Effects of Text Size, Pictogram Size, and Familiarity on Older Adults’ Visual Search Performance

Objective This study aimed to determine suitable combinations of text and pictogram sizes for older adults and investigated the visual prioritization of pictogram versus text. Background Icons have become an indispensable part of application (app) design. Pictogram size and text size of icons influence the usability of apps, especially by aged users. However, few studies have investigated the influences of different pictogram and text size combinations on readability, legibility, and visual search performance for older adults. Method This study used eye-tracking technology to investigate the effects of different pictogram and text size combinations as well as familiarity on readability, legibility, and visual search performance for older adults. A 3 (pictogram size) × 3 (text size) × 2 (familiarity) repeated-measures experimental design was used. Results The results of this study suggest that pictogram size and text size significantly affect visual search performance and that familiarity moderates the effect of text size on distribution of fixation duration proportion for text and pictograms. Conclusion Large pictogram and text sizes improved the readability and legibility of icons for older adults. Furthermore, the older adults fixated the area of text prior to pictograms when the pictogram size was larger than 72 × 72 px (1.38° × 1.38°) in the visual search task. Application The results of this study suggest using different combinations of pictogram and text sizes for older adults under different scenarios. The findings of this study act as practical support for designers and developers of mobile apps for older adults.

Students' Processing of Differently Structured Text Materials Focused on Agricultural Waste Disposal Using Eye-tracking

This study was focused on agricultural waste disposal (AWD) textual materials. Two educational texts are compared: designed texts traditionally with no purposeful design and structured knowledge texts, including the textual form of knowledge units. Eye-tracking technology is employed for retrieving the values of critical indicators specifying the way of reading the texts. We analysed users' visual attention and looking behaviour during the reading process. Thirty-three students worked with 45 pieces of educational texts accompanied by a didactic test. Statistical analyses show statistically significant differences neither in any indicator within studying the texts nor in the users' success rate in the didactic test. The users can work with the knowledge structured texts equivalently with the designed texts in the traditional way. The positive effect for AWD is that users can process knowledge structured texts with better results.

Building a classifier in the personality recognition system based on eye tracking data

Identification systems that use biometric characteristics to solve the problem of access to information systems are becoming more common. The article proposes a new method of biometric identification of computer systems users, based on the determination of the integral Volterra model of the human oculo-motor system (OMS) according to experimental research "input-output" using innovative eye tracking technology. With the help of the Tobii Pro TX300 eye tracker, the data of OMC responses to test visual stimuli were obtained, displayed as bright dots on the computer screen at different distances from the start position in the "horizontal" direction. Based on the data obtained, the transition functions of the first, second and third orders of the OMS for two people were determined. To construct a personality classifier, the informativeness of the proposed heuristic features, determined on the basis of the transition functions in terms of the probability of correct recognition (PCR), is investigated. Pairs of features are established that are resistant to computational errors and have a high PCR value - in the range 0.92 - 0.97. Fig.: 8. Table: 5. Bibliography: 30 items. Key words: biometric identification, personality recognition, Volterra model, oculo-motor system, eye tracking technology, informativeness of features, classification.