A Turnkey Solution Measures Cognitive Workload with SMI Eye Tracking

BERLIN and TELTOW, Germany, September 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) integrates the established Index of Cognitive Activity (ICA) by Eye Tracking Inc. for deeper insights into mental effort and information load

At the Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) taking place this week in San Diego, USA, SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) introduces a new tool that combines SMI Eye Tracking data and the patented Index of Cognitive Activity (ICA) developed by EyeTracking Inc. in one common analysis interface. The turnkey solution is compatible with SMI Eye Tracking Glasses and SMI's leading remote eye tracking devices. It gives insights into the level of user effort and information load, e.g. in training, driving or critical control tasks. This understanding helps to adapt task difficulty, to refine interfaces and training materials and ultimately to improve learning and professional performance. The ICA results from decades of research and uses data on pupil dilation for a reliable estimate of mental effort. In combination with SMI eye tracking analysis options, the ICA reveals when cognitive workload increases and which visual information triggers this effect.

To view the video click here: http://youtu.be/632qlwyAHQI 

To see a photo click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smieyetracking/10017130335/

SMI Eye Tracking Glasses record eye tracking data in real-life situations which require natural interaction, e.g. in driving studies, while SMI's remote eye tracking devices allow for contact-free recording of gaze behaviour on screen-based information. SMI BeGaze analysis software uses this pre-recorded SMI eye tracking data to calculate and synchronize the ICA dataset. In SMI BeGaze, the ICA data can be combined with a broad range of eye tracking analysis options and visualizations and statistics are available for export and further analysis. In addition to single user ICA data, average ICA values provide a comparison of workload levels over user groups. This allows to estimate the effect of task iterations or material redesigns on cognitive workload and to compare the effort level of experts and novices or different age groups.

Dr. Ingmar Gutberlet, SensoMotoric Instruments: "We are proud that a great collaboration with Eye Tracking Inc. resulted in this turnkey integration of the ICA with SMI eye tracking solutions. The tool gives our customers ready-to go access to another analytical measure which opens up more fields of application for our eye tracking technology."

Sandra Marshall, Eye Tracking Inc.: "We are happy that the ICA, our patented physiological assessment of cognitive workload, was successfully integrated by our partner SensoMotoric Instruments. We think this joint work of SMI and Eye Tracking Inc. will further enhance analysis options for research studies which aim to analyze cognitive workload levels."

       
Learn more about SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) at http://www.smivision.com or visit the SMI booth at HFES.

Contact SMI: Stefanie Gehrke, Marcom Manager, stefanie.gehrke@smi.de

SMI on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/smieyetracking

SMI on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/smieyetracking

SMI on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/smieyetracking

SMI on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/smieyetracking

Phone  : +49(0)3328-3955-00        
Fax    : +49(0)3328-3955-99            
WEB    : http://www.smivision.com        
E-Mail : info@smivision.de            

SensoMotoric Instruments GmbH
Warthestrasse 21
14513 Teltow
Germany