    NEW  EYE  TRACKING  TECHNIQUES  IMPROVE   REALISM   OF   AIRCRAFT
    SIMULATORS

          A simulated flight environment for pilot training may  soon
    be  made  more  realistic  through  the   use   of   eye-tracking
    technology  developed  by  researchers  at  the   University   of
    Toronto's Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IMBE).

          Many safety and cost  benefits  are  obtained  by  training
    aircraft pilots under simulated conditions,  but to be  effective
    the simulation must be convicingly realistic.  At present,  th  e
    training facilities use large domes and gimballed projectors,  or
    an array of video screens,  to display computer-generated images.
    But these installations are very expensive and  image  resolution
    is low.  Further,  it would take an enormous amount  of  addi  to
    improve image quality significantly throughout the  whole  viewed
    scene.

          However,  based  on  the  visual  properties  of  the  eye,
    realism can be obtained by providing a high-resolution  'area  of
    interest' insert within a large,  low-resolution field  of  view.
    If  the  image-generating  computer  'knows'  where  the  pilot's
    fixation is, it mage there.

          The technology to make this possible  was  developed  by  a
    research team headed by Professor Richard Frecker  and  Professor
    Moshe Eizenman.  The work was carried out in  collaboration  with
    CAE Electronics Ltd.  of Montreal with financial support from the
    Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

          Their eye-tracker can record and analyze accurately  up  to
    500 eye positions per second.   The  system  works  by  means  of
    capturing and processing the reflections of a low-level beam o  f
    invisible infra-red light shone onto the eye.

          Multi-element arrays capture  the  image  of  the  eye  and
    digitize the information,  which is then processed in  real  time
    by a fast,  dedicated signal processing unit.  The difference  in
    position  between  the  ligh  tre  of  the  pupil   reveals   the
    instantaneous direction of gaze.

          Developments by the IBME team have significantly  increased
    the speed of signal processing in addition to enhancing  accuracy
    of  eye  position  estimates.   Eizenman  believes  that   "these
    improvements make our eye-tracker very  effective  in  monitoring
    the large G-force environment  where  the  pilot  tends  to  make
    larger  eye  movements  because  of  contraints  which  exist  on
    movements of his head".

           In  a  new  generation  of  aircraft  simulators,    under
    development by CAE Electronics Ltd.  of Montreal,  a head tracker
    which tells the direction of the pilot's head is mounted  on  top
    of the helmet.  The eye tracker is mounted on the  front  of  the
    helmet, and is ll exactly where the pilot's eye is fixating.

          Frecker  said  that  "successful  integration  of  our  eye
    tracker into the novel helmet-mounted CAE flight simulator  would
    result in a  new  generation  of  simulators  that  would  likely
    replace the current large  domes  and  cumbersome  video  display
    units."

          Initial tests of the integrated system will be carried  out
    in collaboration with CAE Electronics at Williams Air Force  Base
    in Arizona later this year. 


    Contact:
          Moshe Eizenman (416)978-5523
          Richard Frecker (416)978-2236
