Tobii
Technology, the global leader in eye-tracking and interactive gaze
technology, announced today that it has partnered with Cedrus,
the leading provider of stimuli and response hardware for psychological
studies, to introduce the StimTracker
for Tobii TX300 Eye Tracker. The StimTracker is an extremely precise
synchronization and timing solution that enhances the accuracy of data
collection and insights for scientific research in studies involving EEG
or other biometric data.
"This is a huge development for the psychophysiological research
community as we are now able to provide the most precise correlation
between screen stimuli, subject gaze patterns and internal biometric
reactions," said Tom Englund, president of Tobii Analysis. "With this
solution, researchers will also gain greater insight into studies that
require high temporal resolution, such as reaction time tests and
subliminal single-frame stimuli tests, as well as the ability to more
accurately formulate their conclusions."
StimTracker, when used with the Tobii TX300 Eye Tracker and Tobii
Studio, provides researchers with a reliable and accurate solution to
obtain deeper and more comprehensive data on subjects' reactions to
visual stimuli. The system works by synchronizing screen stimuli,
eye-tracking data and physiological data with true real-time temporal
precision. Combining EEG data with eye tracking, researchers are able to
limit uncertainty related to the quality of the EEG data.
The solution will be supported by the upcoming Tobii
Studio 3.1 release, which includes new light-sensor trigger and
external event registration features. Tobii Studio 3.1 will be available
for download by the end of this month.
Synchronization Versatility
The high timing accuracy of StimTracker for Tobii TX300 Eye Tracker
enables researchers to know exactly where a research subject is looking
when certain effects in the human body occur. Ready to connect to a
range of EEG and biometric data collection systems, as well as a PC
parallel port, StimTracker allows for synchronization of screen stimuli
and eye-tracking data with a broad spectrum of data types, such as EEG,
heart rate, motion detection, NIRS, respiration rate, skin conductance,
light and sound.
Fast, Robust and Reliable Solution
Using an analog light sensor, StimTracker for Tobii TX300 Eye Tracker
provides a fast, robust and reliable solution. This eliminates timing
errors that might appear due to delays in operating systems, graphics
cards or flexible pixel refresh algorithms.
How Does It Work?
When a new stimulus is shown, the Cedrus Lightsensor detects a change
and generates a TTL binary voltage signal (0 and 5 V). The signal is
transmitted via the StimTracker for TX300 Eye Tracker unit to the eye
tracker and the EEG/biometrics data collection system. The eye tracker
receives the signal, creates an event and packages this event with the
next gaze data package. The StimTracker event will be time-stamped with
the same time value as the gaze point. The eye tracker sends the data to
Tobii Studio, and the StimTracker data (EventMarker) is integrated in
the eye-tracking recording. The events can then be used to synchronize
the eye-tracking data with the data coming from the biometrics data
collection system.
"From conversations with our customers in psychophysiological research,
it was becoming increasingly clear that they wanted a solution that
allows them to send simultaneous event markers to EEG and eye trackers,"
said Hisham A. Abboud, president of Cedrus Corp. "Working closely with
Tobii, the most respected name in eye-tracking research and analysis,
has allowed us to address this need and bring this solution to market
quickly. StimTracker will enhance the integrity of EEG and biometric
data collected during an eye-tracking study and will help expand the
knowledge surrounding the implications of brain activity and reaction
times."
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