What is eye-tracking research?
Eye-tracking is a technology that tracks and records the movement of a participant’s gaze. With the help of eye-tracking research in China, interested party can observe and record eye movements, dilation and movement of the pupil. In most cases, companies use it when developing packaging design and website interface. The most common problems that eye-tracking solves are the definition of ‘fixation points’ – areas where the audience’s gaze stays for a long time in order to perceive the image.
Eye-tracking testing in China is a part of neuromarketing. Neuromarketing is one of the areas of classical marketing that studies the neuropsychological and physiological behavior of a person. It includes the study of brain activity and the study of consumer behavior. Therefore, in order for such a study to give a complete picture of the subject’s reactions, we need to know what the participant sees / saw at a particular moment in time. Eye-tracking is also a part of sensory research in China, as it is the study of vision.
The development of VR/AR in China made a substantial contribution to the eye-tracking research, as it can put respondents in a virtual environment, what is crucial for some experiments.
Advantages of the eye-tracking research in China
The main advantage of eye-tracking research is that it reveals subconscious consumer behavior and provides unbiased, objective and quantifiable information about participant behavior. Additionally, it provides natural behavior during the experiment and applicable in various conditions. It is also possible to connect streaming functions then you can monitor participants’ behavior in real time. Therefore, eye-tracking research in China allows Daxens team to built-in analytics with high quality and easy to interpret results. The ability to combine results with other biometric data and sensors, which significantly improves the quality of data and analysis is another advantage of eye-tracking in China.
The application of eye-tracking research in China
The most popular application of eye-tracking testing in China is UX design. UX design is the criteria that determine how pleasant and user-friendly the site is for the target audience. The criteria also called usability shows how many site characteristics can be improved. For example, site navigation, location of promotional offers, ease of searching for information, the user’s emotional response to the site and attractiveness of different elements of the web page. Eye-tracking also helps determine a person’s mental stress when using a web page. The problem is that sometimes sections’ arrangement is not clear, which makes it difficult to find. Eye-tracking research in China makes it clear where the user was looking first, which helps to simplify the interface.
Eye-tracking testing in China copes well with such problems as the visibility of elements and determining the points of focus of attention. In addition to the visibility of elements, it is also important to pay attention to the respondents’ focus on them. This is necessary for a better understanding of the information. For example, Daxens can help cosmetic companies to use eye-tracking as a part of cosmetic sensory research in China to find out what attracts customers in packaging or website.
The process for eye-tracking research in China
Devices for eye-tracking testing in China
The first step is to find the right equipment to conduct the research. There are usually 3 types of devices used for eye-tracking research in China.
Screen-based devices
When using a screen-based device, respondents sit in front of a monitor and interact with content on the screen. These devices track the eyes only within a certain range. However, the respondents have a freedom of movement.
Eye-tracking glasses
These are mobile devices that are closer to the eyes. They are usually located on the spectacle frame. They allow respondents to move freely, which is an advantage. Eye-tracking glasses allow to do the research in the natural environment. However, this is not a suitable device if participants need to move actively, as the glasses may move and give an incorrect result.
Eye-tracking camera
The simplest type of eye tracker is a stationary camera. This is a small portable device installed in front of the screen. There are special webcams for eye tracking. Conventional webcams with low resolution and which do not use infrared light are not suitable for eye-tracking. The lack of a controlled light source can make the quality of the research poor.
Eye-tracking metrics
The next step is to define eye-tracking metrics.
Gaze Points
Gaze points are the most important metrics in the eye-tracking testing in China: they are the basic unit of measurement – one gaze point is equal to one raw sample from an eye tracker.
Fixation
Fixation is when a gaze point fixes on an object for a certain amount of time.
Regions of Interest (AOI)
AOI is the area that the respondents’ gaze focuses on. This allows to determine what is of interest to the research participants and then compare it with other AOIs, if necessary.
Time to First Fixation (TTFF)
Time to First Fixation is the time between the start of the stimulus and the viewing of a specific area. This provides information about when a research participant first focused on a particular AOI. This can be useful for assessing what is drawing attention in a visual object.
Eye-tracking parameters
In the third step Daxens determines and calculates the parameters of the eye-tracking research.
Precision
The optimal precision of the eye tracker should be calculated with samples taken during the period when the eye is fixing. The only way to completely eliminate biological eye movement from the eye movement signal is to use a completely still eye. Since this is not possible with real participants, an artificial eye creates the corneal reflections needed for an eye tracker. When assessing the accuracy of real data, it is useful to know what the maximum possible system precision is.
Sampling rate
Eye-tracking sampling rate refers to how many times per second the eye-tracking device recorded the eye position. The higher the sampling rate, the better you can determine the true path of the eye. However, this requires more expensive cameras and more data storage.
Headbox size
On-screen systems track the eyes only within a certain range, they can only move a limited distance while it is within the range of the eye tracker. This range is the headbox, which also an important parameter to calculate.
Eye-tracking visualization
The last step is to visualize the results of the eye-tracking testing in China. There are three types of visualization.
1.Heat map. For this visualization Daxens team superimposes the colored spots on the tested image. Cool colors indicate the least visual interest, warm colors the most.
2. Foggy map. The image is black, but the areas of interests remain transparent.
3. Map of gaze movements. On this visualization you can see which points have attracted more user attention. In addition, it shows the scheme of the movement of the gaze.
What Daxens will provide for your eye-tracking research in China
Daxens takes care of every aspect of eye-tracking testing in China. This includes participants, premises, devices, data collection and visualization.
To learn more about the methodology, contact our Daxens consultants in China.