Analysis of EOG data recorded while reading

Abstract

Reading is the activity through which humans decipher written symbols in an effort to extract information from written text. It is a medium through which knowledge is shared and communication is exercised. Whether written on paper, or displayed on an electronic screen, literacy can be considered as a valuable tool to one’s social and educational development. While reading, humans perform a wide variety of different eye movements intended to maximize the rate with which information is collected. Through the use of electrooculography (EOG) data, the ocular movements performed by humans while reading can be recorded, analysed and classified. These eye movements harness valuable information regarding the user’s reading capabilities, proficiency in a language and familiarity with a particular topic. By monitoring and carefully analysing these ocular movements, reading disorders such as dyslexia can be identified and inferences regarding the layout of the text at hand can be made. This project, has made use of EOG data recorded while reading in order to investigate the manifestation of different eye movements performed while reading. Through this, a Wordometer application was developed, capable of measuring the quantity of reading. Through the incorporation of various classification measures, this application provided various reading statistics, such as word estimates, reading speeds, lines read and quantifying various eye movements. Providing the reader with this information, can in turn motivate the user to improve his/her reading speeds as well as increase his/her reading volumes. Secondly, EOG based eye gaze tracking was explored in order to track the progression of the user while reading paragraphs of text. The latter is ultimately intended to permit the execution of commonly used commands, such as the selection of hyperlinks on a website, through eye movements rather than using conventional input devices such as keyboards and touchscreens. This would also facilitate the experience for users with mobile impairments as commonly used tools can be accessed using simple ocular movements as a control input.