Читать книгу Eye Tracking the User Experience - Aga Bojko - Страница 37

If you look closely at Figure 3.2, you’ll see that one of the eye trackers is different from the other two. The eye tracker on the top left is built into a computer monitor. The other systems are stand-alone. They could be used with a monitor (as shown in the top-right picture), but they allow for a more flexible setup.

Stand-alone remote eye trackers can be used for tracking physical objects (such as magazines, newspapers, products, or even entire shelves), as long as these objects and the participant are stationary. They can also record eye movements on TV screens as participants play games, interact with on-screen menus, watch commercials, and look at large screen projections (for example, a virtual shelf). Some can be installed in vehicles to track how drivers use the dashboard and what they pay attention to on the road. In addition, it is possible to use stand-alone eye trackers for recording user interaction with mobile devices (see Figure 3.3).

FIGURE 3.3 These remote eye trackers together with their special stands can be used for studies with mobile devices.

While it may sound like a good idea to get a stand-alone eye tracker because of its flexibility, the trade-off is that it tends to be a little more demanding to set up than a plug-and-play integrated eye tracker. So if you only conduct studies with stimuli displayed on a computer monitor (such as websites or software applications), an integrated eye tracker is definitely something to consider. An added bonus is the fact that it is even less obtrusive than a stand-alone eye tracker, which helps participants feel more at ease.

If you’d rather not be limited to conducting studies on one computer monitor, fear not. Manufacturers have already managed to simplify the more challenging setup of stand-alone eye trackers. Some systems now also offer the capability to save the configuration details so that the configuration can be reused in similar studies. In fact, as these devices become smaller, lighter, and more portable, more and more practitioners opt for stand-alone remote eye trackers.