EyeTech has limited testing using the TM4 on a virtual machine like those created through VMWare, Parallels, or VirtualBox. Disconnections may be due to another knowledge base article helping with disconnections on the host computer.
For the virtual machine software, verify the virtual has sole control of the USB camera device rather than the main operating system.
Using a virtual machine is not a supported solution due to challenges in maintaining the display of the video, but it can work for many. EyeTech would be interested in further findings by our users. (more…)
Use a script file for AutoHotKey to allow you to click a button to pause/start eye tracking.
The program itself is available at: http://www.autohotkey.com/download/ . The one you want is Installer for AutoHotKey Basic (1.95 MB) at that site. Once installed, you can run the script you saved previously to hit the right-side Windows key (near the spacebar) to turn eye tracking on/off. You can change the line, “RWin::” to use another key on your keyboard according to http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/Hotkeys.htm.
Tips
- The hotkey doesn’t pause it well if the eye tracker is running on a fast computer. Close your eyes when hitting the key. Otherwise, you may have to press it multiple times.
- The script relies on the Eye Tools window being present. If you have the regular Quick Glance window up, it will not work and click on something else.
- If you don’t have Quick Glance open, the script opens it for you and clicks to have the “Eye Tools” window available. If the Eye Tools window is minimized, it activates it and returns it to where it was.
- The script relies on the button size being set to the default, but it is easily changed to suit your custom button size. Just modify the line “Click 380, 215″ to the correct values by determining what the location of the center of the button is from the top corner of the window (not the screen!!!). Paint can help you do this by cropping the window’s screenshot and moving your mouse to the right location.
- The script relies on the Eye Tools window only, so you can move the window to any location and it will work. AutoHotKey knows to find where the window is, make the left of the window use the coordinate 0 and the top as well, and then move so many pixels from that location using the “Click 380, 215″ line. Therefore, you can move the window to the top, bottom, right or left and it will still work!
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The hardware associated with Quick Glance uses IR lights to illuminate the eyes and provide reference points for the eye tracker. The IR light is produced by LED‟s at a wavelength of 880 or 850 nanometers, depending on the camera. This type of IR light occurs naturally in sunlight and in light from incandescent lamps.
The IR output levels are well within the safety guidelines given in the book 2007 TLVs and BEIs by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. (more…)
Check the power and data cable connections:
- Recheck all power and data cables. Some trackers draw all their power from a FireWire or USB cable while other models may require an external power supply. See your hardware manual for your tracker for details. Start Quick Glance.
- If the error persists, disconnect all power and data cables, restart the computer, and reconnect all power and data cables. After a few seconds, start Quick Glance.
Check the software and driver installations:
- Go to device manager and see if the eye tracking camera appears anywhere. Try updating the driver (found in the “C:\Program Files\EyeTechDS\driver” folder.
- If the problem persists, try Reinstalling the Quick Glance software using the following Reinstalling Quick Glance Guide .
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If the camera image freezes, appears choppy or doesn’t appear at all then try the following tips (try these one at a time until the problem is fixed):
- Is “Image Capture” turned on in Quick Glance camera settings? Go to “Settings/Advanced Settings” and you will see the “Enable Image Capture” check box. This should be checked.
- Be sure you have the latest software and drivers. Visit Downloads to obtain the latest Quick Glance software.
- Try lowering the bandwidth to 50% or lower. Go to “Settings/Advanced Settings/Camera” to adjust the bandwidth.
- Restart your computer.
- Try changing to a different brand of data cable (USB or FireWire depending on model).
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Click on the links below to help you manually update the camera driver in device manager:
Technical Support Device Manager For Updating Camera Driver on Windows 7
Technical Support Device Manager For Updating Camera Driver on Windows XP
In our latest software, locations mentioned in the PDFs for drivers should to refer to “C:\Program Files\EyeTechDS\Drivers(64)” per your system setup. (more…)
If you are experiencing poor accuracy then check the following:
- Did user get a good calibration score? Visit Poor Calibration Scores Guide for more tips.
- Try recalibrating using a 16 point calibration. Once you get a good calibration score you should not need to recalibrate for every session. Only if you’re physical set up has substantially changed.
- Does user have a lot of head movement? Head movement can introduce some inaccuracies.
- Don’t “chase the cursor”. Always look at a fixed point. Correct for inaccuracies by looking slightly to the other side of the area you want to select. Over time and with daily practice your eyes learn to adjust and compensate naturally.
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Quick Glance uses internal filters to control the feel of the cursor movement. You can adjust these filters in “Settings\Advanced Settings\Processing”.
For earlier versions of the software – just adjust the “Smoothing Factor”. More smoothing gives a more stable cursor but also introduces more lag.
For Quick Glance 6.4 and later you can adjust 2 parameters:
- Cursor movement method
- Cursor stability
If the cursor is not moving at all, verify that the “Eye Control” checkbox is checked on the home screen. Also, click on “View Full-Size” and verify that the tracking crosshairs are consistently locked onto your pupils. (more…)
