Gaze is more than just a Point: Rethinking visual Attention Analysis using peripheral Vision-based Gaze Mapping

Until recently, visual attention mapping of mobile eye tracking recordings was reduced to a small area of sharp vision (foveal vision). Due to recent advancements of machine learning assisted object detection algorithms, researchers of pd|z were able to quantify peripheral vision areas using the object gaze distance measure (external page see publication).
In this recent publication, visual attention in multi-object handling tasks was investigated using a peripheral vision based attention measure, the visual attention index (VAI). The VAI considers the duration of a gaze as well as the placement of an object within the foveal and peripheral field of vision to produce an intuitive attention measure.
The VAI is visualized using a radar graph which is shown to be effective for the comparison of visual attention over multiple tasks, trials, and subjects, which offers new possibilities for a more realistic and detailed depiction of visual attention in multi-object tasks.
The article was accepted to the ACM Symposium of Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA) 2023 and selected as best paper for the Eye Tracking and Visualization workshop (ETVIS).