HELMET MOUNTED OCCULOMETER

THE INHERENT ABILITY OF THE OCULOMOTOR SYSTEM TO RAPIDLY SHIFT THE EYE'S LINE OF GAZE IN A CHANGING VISUAL ENVIRONMENT, POTENTIALLY MAKES THE EYE AN IDEAL INPUT DEVICE FOR MAN/MACHINE INTERFACE APPLICATIONS. INSTRUMENTATION TO MONITOR EYE MOVEMENTS AND MEASURE PUPIL DIAMETER MUST BE ABLE TO EASILY ACCOMODATE A WIDE VARIETY OF SUBJECTS,RELIABLY AND ACCURATELY COMPUTE EYE LINE OF GAZE OVER THE FULL RANGE OF AMBIENT LIGHT LEVELS AND BE MINIMALLY INTRUSIVE TO A SUBJECT'S WORKING ENVIRONMENT. WE PROPOSE TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP A HELMET MOUNTED OCCULOMETER WHICH WILL MEET THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS. THE OCCULOMETER WILL INCORPORATE AN INFRARED VIDEO IMAGING SYSTEM COUPLED TO ISCAN'S REAL TIME EYE MOVEMENT MONITORING IMAGE PROCESSOR. PHASE I WILL EVALUATE THE COMPARATIVE BENEFITS OF USING A MINIATURE HEAD MOUNTED VIDEO CAMERA OR A COHERENT FIBER OPTIC BUNDLE CONNECTED TO AN OFF-HELMET VIDEO CAMERA TO ACQUIRE A TRACKABLE IMAGE OF THE EYE. WE WILL ALSO EXPLORE CALIBRATION AND AMBIENT LIGHT COMPENSATION TECHNIQUES WHICH WILL LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE, SELF-CALIBRATING, HELMET MOUNTED OCCULOMETER.