The Institute of Ergonomics and Industrial Organization (ifab) uses the observation of human eye movements to investigate both basic and application-oriented questions. When should fatigue-related breaks be taken? To what extent do different input concepts differ in terms of mental strain? What distraction effect do additional information systems have? Which gaze strategy do successful problem solvers use? To answer these and other questions, the ifab uses a total of three binocular eye-tracking systems with different areas of application.
With the help of two head-based systems (Dikablis Professional & Pupil Labs Core), it is possible to observe eye movements in application contexts such as human-robot interaction and the design of assembly workstations with a recording frequency between 60-120 Hz. The test subjects have a wide range of movement and are not restricted in their behavior.
A remote eye tracker (SR Research EyeLink 1000 Plus) with a high recording rate of up to 2000 Hz is available for the study under standardized laboratory conditions. In this way, correlates of human problem-solving and decision-making behavior as well as emotional processing in gaze behavior are further investigated.
One study in which the eye-tracking system was used dealt with the measurement of mental stress during monitoring activities in control rooms. The study investigated the influence of different display formats of video material on gaze behavior and performance in a main task and a secondary task. The data obtained can be used to draw conclusions about the mental strain on the person performing the monitoring task and their information processing strategies. The findings can be used, for example, to develop guidelines for the presentation of video material for surveillance activities and to derive requirements for future assistance systems.