Measuring Intent in Gaze Attention

Computers, displays and information become ever more pervasive but human attention remains constant and scarce. Eye-tracking is widely used, in design processes and computer applications, as it shows to which objects we allocate the limited attention we have, indicating our interests and intents. However, although we can direct our eye gaze at will, we also know that our attention can be drawn. 

The idea of this project is to measure intent in gaze attention: For any gaze shift to an object, can we measure whether it was performed because we intended to, or because the object drew our attention? If successful, our work will result in a first-ever method to qualify attention shifts by intent. 

Such a method would have profound impact: Computers could respond differently when users look with intent; designers could optimise content to guide attention; and there might be new ways for detecting and addressing attention deficits.