Measuring where a person is looking provides important information about what triggers his interest. Therefore, a detailed understanding of how people mentally process the information presented to them, is essential for the design of efficient user interfaces.

To be able to analyze this process, one can use an eye tracking system such as the EyeCatcher. With the EyeCatcher, a video image of the person’s field of view can be obtained, containing a cross-hair cursor on the point in the image where his eyes are fixed (the point-of-gaze). The video signal can be recorded on tape to allow analysis at a later stage. By adding time code to the tape, it can readily be analyzed with The Observer. The person’s eye fixation can then be coded and timed, so that frequencies, duration and sequential structure of visual orientation can be assessed.  

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