Usage of eye tracker technology in examining attention distribution of operators of unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

This article proposes yet another approach towards looking into causes for attention distribution of an operator of unmanned aerial vehicle. During examination, the operator is being tested at dedicated flight simulator while data are gathered and visualized through a mobile eye tracker. Two work stages are considered sequentially, i.e. building a geometric 2D transformation of region of interest (homography) within an image, and overlaying a dynamic heatmap as well. In the former stage, spontaneous movements of the operator’s head, recorded by the video, are eliminated thus enabling the operator to use the mobile eye tracker instead of a desktop-based one. During the latter stage, the distribution of operator’s attention over time is displayed. In order to implement the current research, a source code has been developed in C++ for some features readily available in OpenCV library to be used. In addition, data gathered after carrying out flight session are processed and discussed thoroughly.