Tested hardware

[javiersanagustin]

The ITU Gaze Tracker has been successfully tested using the cameras below, if you have experience with another camera, please let us know so we can add it to the list.

Built-in nightvision (IR illumination)

* Genius iSlim 321R and 311R.

* Sandberg Nightcam

* Elyssa Digivue EC PC Cam see this post for more information.

* Kinamax WCM-6LNV 6-LED (not recommended, because of this )


No built-in nightvision

These cameras can be used with external illumination such as IR flashlights, camcorder night-vision lamps, security camera illumination or custom IR-LED circuits.

* Sony HDR-HC5 videocamera, together with one or two Sony infrared lamps HVL-IRM

* Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD with modifications

* Microsoft LifeCam VX-1000 with modifications

* Sunvalleytek Y19 with modifications

* Vimicro mini / Sunvalleytek Y113 see this post


Notes

Genius iSlim 321R and 311R
In order to use this camera, we need to turn on the built-in infrared LEDs. This is not done when the application is run. You need to open the Setup panel, Options, and then select the camera and a resolution from the drop-down menus (recommended resolution 640x480 @ 30 fps).

The LEDs should remain on even when the application is closed. They will turn off when the camera is disconnected from the USB port.

Sandberg Nightcam
This camera has a light sensor on the top part that measures how much light there is in the room. If the light level is low, the LEDs are turned on automatically.

To force the LEDs to be on all the time, we just need to cover the sensor with non-transparent tape.

Kinamax WCM-6LNV 6-LED
Only the default resolution and framerate can be used, otherwise the application will crash.

Like the Sandberg, there is a light sensor that needs to be covered to force the infrared LEDs to be on all the time.

Sony HDR-HC5
Using a videocamera in a remote setup is a little bit more tricky, and results may not be as expected. Right now we need external infrared illumination, obtained by using one or two HVL-IRM lamps produced by Sony. To improve image quality, we cover the built-in LED on the camera with non-transparent tape.

Microsoft LifeCam VX-1000
Explanation on how to use this camera can be found in this post

Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD
The camera appears unable to capture 720p (1280x720) at 30 frames per second. This capture-rate is only available at lower resolutions. However, the camera offers good image quality and above average performance in low-light settings. Instructions for how to remove the IR cut filter can be found in this thread.

[oVISIONo]

Hey guys,
I have to say I have tested the ITU Gaze Tracker (revision 40) with a Microsoft Lifecam VX-1000 and it works excellent!
The webcam has been modified to works as an infrared cam following this procedure.
And I used an infrared led powered with a LR44 button size battery to illuminate the eye.
You can see a test video here. The video quality is not so good but that's because I'm using CamStudio and it has some problem in my pc when I'm working with a webcam.

Congratulations for the good job!
Regards,
Marcelo.

[rikkie]

Hi all,

I tested a trust WB-5400 webcam and get a black screen on Windows XP SP-2/3 with .net 3.5 SP-1.
So seems not compatible.

[fernandor777]

Hi, I'm from Ecuador. I tested the Gaze Tracker with the Genius Slim 311R WebCam and it works perfect using the zoom and the infrared vision at 640x480 @ 30 fps (winXP SP3, .net 3.5 SP1).

I am interested in helping with the development of this open source project

[martintall]

I've tested the GT with a Kinamax WCM-6LNV 6-LED which I bought on Amazon for $16.99.
Unfortunately, I am not able to change the device mode so the only mode I can run the default 320x240 @ 30FPS. For some reason the other modes are listed with a 100 frames per second which gives an error when applying it (obviously) Gotta fix that camera class.

Anyhow, the setup works ok when calibrated, good enough for large targets e.g 150 pixels in width and height. If your using this cam, remember to cover the hole for the light sensor on top with tape so the IR LED's are activated. Also, adjust the lens to focus properly. Do not apply any of the settings for brightness, contrast, sharpness etc. as it will kill the frame rate.

http://www.amazon.com/Kinamax-WCM-6LNV- ... 066&sr=8-1

[javiersanagustin]

Thanks, I edited the first post

[drozado]

To the GT community: I have tried the Sony cam recorder DCR-PC330E with the gaze tracker over USB streaming. The process of making Windows Vista 32 bit recognize the video camera was a bit of a headache but it did finally worked out by installing the XP drivers on Vista and running them in XP mode. The results of the calibration were so so, due mainly to the restrictions on the zooming capabilities of that video camera and its problems to properly focus upon a closely zoomed object. I will keep trying though and I will report any worthy results.

[javiersanagustin]

Thanks drozado. If you have some time, could you post some screenshots to see the image quality given by the camera?

BTW in order to use a camcorder it is recommended that it has "macro zoom", that helps in having a perfectly focused and zoomed-in image of the eye.

[drozado]

Javier,

Exactly, the DCR-PC330E does not have "macro zoom" capabilities, so when you try to zoom upon your eyes when the camera is situated below the monitor, it does not get in focus, as the following image shows:


The obvious solution it is to place the camera farther apart, then you can focus, but can't zoom as closed as I would like upon the eye:


I have found out that on the remote setup, glasses can be a problem, so to find the glint I have to take off my glasses. The glint is found but I have trouble to make it stable:


and the results of the calibration are very poor:


If I have time, I'll try out a Sony HDR-HC9, but first I need to get a firewire card for my computer, since I don't have one and I think the HDR models don't provide USB streaming.

[javiersanagustin]

Hey drozado,

Thanks for the screenshots, really helpful to see what's going on

As expected, the eye is quite small without the "macrozoom" feature, although it seems to me that it's still possible to track the pupil. However, the glint is probably to weak. That is the current main issue in the remote version of the tracker (apart from bugs, of course ), and that's why I'm using the Sony IR lamps mentioned in the first post to provide a more stable (and big ) glint, because tracking the glint created by the IR led built in the camera is really challenging.

I hope to work a bit on that in the near future.

Cheers!