In the twinkling of an eye: Synchronization of EEG and eye tracking based on blink signatures

Abstract

Achieving robust adaptive synchronization of multimodal biometric inputs: The recent arrival of wireless EEG headsets that enable mobile real-time 3D brain imaging on smartphones, and low cost eye trackers that provide gaze control of tablets, will radically change how biometric sensors might be integrated into next generation user interfaces. In experimental lab settings EEG neuroimaging and eye tracking data are traditionally combined using external triggers to synchronize the signals. However, with biometric sensors increasingly being applied in everyday usage scenarios, there will be a need for solutions providing a continuous alignment of signals. In the present paper we propose using spontaneous eye blinks, as a means to achieve near real-time synchronization of EEG and eye tracking. Analyzing key parameters that define eye blink signatures across the two domains, we outline a probability function based algorithm to correlate the signals. Comparing the accuracy of the method against a state of the art EYE-EEG plug-in for offline analysis of EEG and eye tracking data, we propose our approach could be applied for robust synchronization of biometric sensor data collected in a mobile context.