Exploring Gaze-Activated Object With the CoffeePet

The feeling of being looked back when we look at someone and that someone is also aware that we are looking at him/her is a basic fundamental during social interaction. This situation can only occur if both realize the presence of each other. Based on these theories, this research is motivated in exploiting the possibility of designing for a gaze sensitive object - how people can relate to object by depending on their eyes only. In this paper, we present a gaze-activated coffee machine called the CoffeePet attached with two small, OLED screen that will displays animated eyes. These eyes are responsive towards the user's gaze behavior. Furthermore, we used a sensor module (HVC Omron) to detect and track the eyes of a user in real time. It gives the ability for the user to interact with the CoffeePet simply by moving their eyes. The CoffeePet is also able to automatically brew and pour the coffee out of its spout if it feels appropriate during the interaction. We further explain the description of the system, modification of the real product, and the experimental plan to compare the user's perception of the CoffeePet's eyes and to investigate whether the user realizes or not that their gaze behavior influences the CoffeePet to react.