Is it in your eyes? Explorations in using gaze cues for remote collaboration

According to previous research, head mounted displays (HMDs) and head worn cameras (HWCs) are useful for remote collaboration. These systems can be especially helpful for remote assistance on physical tasks, when a remote expert can see the workspace of the local user and provide feedback. However, a HWC often has a wide field of view and so it may be difficult to know exactly where the local user is looking. In this chapter we explore how head mounted eye-tracking can be used to convey gaze cues to a remote collaborator. We describe two prototypes developed that integrate an eye-tracker with a HWC and see-through HMD, and results from user studies conducted with the systems. Overall, we found that showing gaze cues on a shared video appears to be better than just providing the video on its own, and combining gaze and pointing cues is the most effective interface for remote collaboration among the conditions tested. We also discuss the limitations of this work and present directions for future research.