Dasher: typing with your eyes

[marlof]

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2209829.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2209829.stm</a><br /><br />Brad already <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1865">talked</a> about the Dasher project in June, but now the BBC has a news story on it. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/bregonje/typewitheyes.jpg" /><br /><br />"Designed by David MacKay and David Ward in the University's Department of Physics, the system uses an eyetracker which can deduce where the user is looking on the screen. Letters continuously appear on the screen, with Dasher displaying the most likely pairings or triplets of letters. It can even guess whole words. [...] The system is faster than other eyetracking systems producing up to 25 words per minute compared to the 15 word per minute currently possible. "Not only is this faster than any alternative writing system driven by an eyetracker, the frequency of spelling mistakes is about five times smaller and the new system is also less stressful to use," added Dr MacKay. [...] It is hoped that the software will be useful for handheld computers or mobile phones where there is no space for a keyboard. It could also prove invaluable in the burgeoning markets in Japan and China. Both languages have thousands of characters meaning they are poorly suited to conventional keyboards."<br /><br />A Pocket PC version of this open source program (of course you'd have to provide your own eyetracker) is available for download at <a href="http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/Download.html">the Dasher Project</a> site. Source: PDA Gerbil and Craig Maxim.

[TBone]

Actually, you don't need an eyetracker for either version--the desktop version will run off the mouse, and the PPC software will use the stylus. It's very cool stuff, but almost gives me vertigo.

[marlof]

It you want to type with your eyes (see the title of this topic) you will. Brad already explained in June that you can also use this for "regular" (if there's such a thing with this program) text entry.

[TBone]

It you want to type with your eyes (see the title of this topic) you will.

Actually, it kind of scares me that people might think you could do eyeball typing WITHOUT an eyetracker. "Hey Ma, it ain't workin'!"

[marlof]

Actually, it kind of scares me that people might think you could do eyeball typing WITHOUT an eyetracker. "Hey Ma, it ain't workin'!"

LOL! Yeah, but in my dayjob I learned not to expect too much, and explain the obvious as well. I can get carried away with that attitude at times. ;)

[JonnoB]

Speaking of 'explaining the obvious' and 'expecting too much.'

Years ago, I managed a technical support department for a computer manufacturer and the stories we heard would make you wonder how some people survive in this world. Some thought that when they bought a 'fax' modem they could hold a paper to the monitor which of course could then 'see' the paper held up to it and send it as a fax. Or the most famous one of all.... in the days of DOS applications, when a user complained they could not find the 'any' key. The software asked the user to 'press any key to continue'

[TBone]

Well, as Douglas Adams was known to comment, who wants to live in a world where we need instructions printed on the wrappers for toothpicks?

[marlof]

Years ago, I managed a technical support department for a computer manufacturer and the stories we heard would make you wonder how some people survive in this world. Some thought that when they bought a 'fax' modem they could hold a paper to the monitor which of course could then 'see' the paper held up to it and send it as a fax.

One of my collegues had one of the others on hands and knees next to the PC AC vent, holding the phone in the direction of the vent, so that he could "modem" a document into her computer. To her defense: she discovered it was stupid herself, but she was so desperate to get that document, that she didn't think clearly for a moment. It was in the days before our office was connected to the net, and of course, later that day we had to drove by and drop the document off in person.

[[Cruzer]]

Wow, I don't know if I would do this.. My eye would be tired and
get carple tunnel :lol:

[jmulder]

If you want to type with your eyes

So...what's the difference between typing with your eyes and banging your head against the keyboard? :shocked!:

(just a little Friday humor)

-Jim

[Konrad]

One woman called Microsoft tech support complaining that her computer wouldn't start; she had placed the mouse on the floor and was relentlessly pressing it with the front of her foot waiting for the computer to power up.
A couple hours too many in front of the sewing machine, no?

[craigmaxim]

:roll: Well, I guess this is my "stupid day" but if you don't have an eyetracker what does a stylus have to do with anything? In other words, a stylus is used by the hand (for most of us) so how is this using your eyes as opposed to normal stylus input?

[JonnoB]

:roll: Well, I guess this is my "stupid day"

We all have those...


... if you don't have an eyetracker what does a stylus have to do with anything? In other words, a stylus is used by the hand (for most of us) so how is this using your eyes as opposed to normal stylus input?

The eye-tracking unit watches your eye movements and it is the movement that is recognized to represent a character. The movement can also be made by a stylus. It is just another form of shorthand. Although useable by a stylus, it is the application of using eye movement that has real long-term implications.

I think it is all pie-in-the-sky until we have fiber wires that we plant in our heads that read our thoughts. :lol:

[craigmaxim]

The eye-tracking unit watches your eye movements and it is the movement that is recognized to represent a character.

I got that part. The eye-tracker watches your eye movement....and if there is NO eye-tracker to watch anything, then what watches the stylus? I'm still lost, unless the stylus is connected to the PPC through wires or bluetooth, or something.

What am I missing?

(Stupid day is not officially over until midnight Eastern time BTW) :-)

[JonnoB]

Actually, think of the eye-catcher as emulating your stylus.... then without the eye-catcher, you are actually using a stylus. Take a look at this image for an example....

http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/djw30/dasher/dasher.gif

[topps]

]Wow, I don't know if I would do this.. My eye would be tired and
get carple tunnel :lol:

You'd have "carpal tunnel vision" &lt;groan> :lol: :roll:

[renz]

Hi, try it out guys! It´s really neat to fly through your sentences. :lol:

It works great with the stylus, no eye-tracker needed. The only thing that I could not figute out was how to make blanks (" "). (Help, anybody?)

It works in full-screen mode, it´ll be interesting to see how it could be fit into the space where the on-screen keyboard normally resides.

[renz]

Hi, I found the blank: it´s the "-" sign.

I´ve been playing with the software the whole weekend and now I am just flying through my sentences. It´s cool, it´s fun :lol: I found a text database on the web for the most used German words and replaced source.txt (the basic training file) with it. That plus my "training" through writing really improved the entry speed.

I hope that it turns into a "normal" entry method / alternative for the keyboard, Graffity, etc. quickly.