Contents

1. What is COGAIN?
2. How can I join to become a member of COGAIN?
3. Where can I buy a COGAIN tracker?
4. What does "eye control", "gaze communication", "gaze interaction" mean?
5. My child/relative has this disability, can eye control help?
6. Which tracker is best for me/my child/my relative?
7. The systems are too expensive, are there any cheaper budget options?
8. I want to build my own eye tracker, can you help?

1. What is COGAIN?

COGAIN is a network of excellence on COmmunication by GAze INteraction. It is a network which joins people who share a common goal. The members in the network are researchers, eye tracker developers and people who work directly with users with disabilities in user centers and hospitals. We share a common goal: to do research, develop the technology and spread information about eye gaze control and communication. We want people to know that they can use their eyes to communicate and control a computer.
Read more About COGAIN.
Read more about the work done in COGAIN work packages.

See also:
COGAIN Association
COGAIN Conference

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2. How can I join to become a member of COGAIN?

The best way to become a member of COGAIN is to join the COGAIN Association. More information is available at the web pages of the COGAIN Association.

It is no longer possible to join as a funded partner because the project is near its end (last funded year). The COGAIN Association will continue even after the funding from the European Commission ends. For individuals, the best way is to join the COGAIN Association. Companies and user centres may also consider joining one of the COGAIN advisory boards: Board of Industrial Advisors (BIA) or Board of User Communities (BUC)

The best place to meet COGAIN members and learn more about the work COGAIN does, is to participate the annual COGAIN Conference

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3. Where can I buy a COGAIN tracker?

There is no such thing as a COGAIN tracker. COGAIN is network (see above "What is COGAIN") that consist of people who share a common goal. COGAIN is not a system or a software, and COGAIN does not sell anything.

However, some of the members in the network are manufacturers who do sell their own trackers, for a list of eye control systems available for people with disabilities, see the catalogue of eye control systems targeted at people with disabilities

Members of COGAIN have also developed various applications that can be controlled by eye movements, for more information see Applications.

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4. What does "eye control", "gaze communication", "gaze interaction" mean?

Eye/gaze communication means that a person is using his or her eyes to communicate. All sighted people use eyes in their everyday communication. They look at a person they talk to or look at an object they interact with (e.g. look at a pencil before picking it up). Thus, eyes can be used to point at the items. People who lack the control of muscle movement may still be able to move their eyes. In that case, eyes may well be their only means of communication. They interact and communicate by using their gaze.

Eyes can also be used to control a computer (thus "eye control"). An eye tracking device tracks the persons eye movement and determines where on the screen their gaze is targeted at. Such "eye mouse" can then be used to control the mouse pointer on-screen (instead of hand mouse or head mouse). However, please note that pointing by gaze is not as accurate as pointing with a conventional hand-mouse. More information about eye control, its potential and problems involved is available in the COGAIN reports and multimedia training resource at User Involvement web pages

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5. My child/relative has this disability, can eye control help?

For some people, eye control is a necessity and the only option, for example, people who are totally paralyzed and who can only control their eye movements. For other people, eye control can be an option that is faster and less tiring than the other options such as switches. The COGAIN Report on User Requirements (D3.1) gives an overview of who can benefit from eye control, and also who may not currently benefit from it (partly because of limitations in the technology), see D3.1 User requirements report with observations of difficulties users are experiencing.

See also the "Who can benefit and how" part of the COGAIN multimedia training resource on Eye Control Hints and Tips.

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6. Which tracker is best for me/my child/my relative?

There are several different eye control systems available for purchase, for a list, see the Catalogue of eye control systems.

When considering which system to get, it is always recommended to consult an expert to make an assessment and to carefully trial which tracker is the best for each individual. The needs of individual end-users differ a lot and so do the systems and their properties. There are certain key issues one may consider when trialling an eye control systems, for more information see the COGAIN D3.2 Report on features of the different systems and development needs

See also the parts on "Planning and carrying out an eye-control assessment" and related parts (ergonomic issues, available software, etc.) of the COGAIN multimedia training resource on Eye Control Hints and Tips.

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7. The systems are too expensive, are there any cheaper budget options?

The prices of the eye control systems vary depending on the tracker and its features, so it may be worth the while to ask for the price of several systems. Please note though that not all systems are suitable for everybody, so do not purchase any tracker before trying it out carefully!

This technology is still fairly new. We expect the prices to go down as it becomes more common. There are also "low-cost" and "open source" systems being developed but none of them are yet stable and easy-to-use enough to be used by people with disabilities.

For people who have some control over muscle movement, there are potential alternative controlling methods available, for more information, see the COGAIN Report D3.1, Chapter 5: What potential alternatives to eye control are there?

As a "first aid", you can use a manual eye communication board (also called "gaze communication frame"). It is a board with letters (or pictures) on it. One person (able-bodied) holds the board in front of the disabled person. The disabled person then looks at one of the letters (or pictures) on the board and the other person (who is holding the board) speaks out the letter to confirm that she interpreted the gaze direction correctly. Then the disabled person looks at the next letter and again the conversation partner speaks out that letter. This way a person can act as a human eye tracker who interprets the gaze direction. For more information, see Eye Gaze Communication Board.

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8. I want to build my own eye tracker, can you help?

There are some good starting points (open source software and research reports) on the COGAIN web page on Open source and low cost eye tracking.

You may also want to have a look at the COGAIN WP5 "Eye tracker development" workpackage's reports, D5.2, D5.3, D5.3, D5.4, D5.5, see COGAIN Reports

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Did not find the answer to your questions? Please email your question to info@cogain.org, or fill a web form to Express your interest.