The "Eye On Line" (EOL) project is supported by the Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR) and aims to develop and test an original device for writing and drawing with the eyes. EOL combines CNRS researchers, clinicians from the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (APHP), the artist Michel Paysant and the Pertech company. The main objective is to provide patients, who do not have the possibility to move and talk, a communication tool based on the mobility of the eyes. The novelty of the under- research device is to allow the direct realization of smooth and continuous eye movements, recorded by a camera near the eye, which then renders the performed path. Based on a perceptual illusion produced by eye movements, this device differs from the current devices which only enable the selection of predefined information presented on a screen. This new approach thus offers a greater freedom of expression, a graphic and an emotional identity: signatures, drawings and soon music, will be produced directly by the user.

The EOL device will be developed over 2 years and a commercially prototype presenting an intuitive utilization and an easy implementation will be born.

A first step aims to train healthy volunteers since the motor skills' acquisition to control eye movements is not immediate. A second step, in partnership with the Department of Neurology of APHP, will propose testing sessions to patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - a disease causing progressive paralysis of the limbs and face - to determine whether they are able to control the device and use it to communicate with the surrounding environment.

At the same time, computer developments carried out by Julien Diard at Grenoble (at LNCP, Joint University-CNRS laboratory) will allow automatic recognition of traces as well as the correction of errors or imperfections..

Michel Paysant a contemporary artist working in the hinge art/science and producer of Eye Drawings (see his pictures on this site and his paintings at the Georges Pompidou Museum) explores the possibilities of this new device and in particular its ability for graphical expressiveness. The Pertech company (directed by Jérôme Baujon) develops accurate and lightweight eye tracking devices adapted to the specific constraints of EOL system.

EOL device operation:

The originality of the EOL is to appeal to the users' oculomotor abilities, in particular those of the ocular pursuit used in everyday life to track moving targets (these are for example the movements produced when eyes are following the flight of a bird). With EOL, it is possible to convert the eye into a pencil or a pen, turning it to a real tool for action. The difficulty arises from the need to produce smooth movements – like the movement of a pencil's lead. To achieve this performance, Jean Lorenceau relied on a visual illusion that gives the impression that a static image moves when the eyes are moving. In this way, the movements of the eyes, which are usually unperceptive, produce an illusory movement that allows the ocular pursuit control. However, it should be notice that this transformation of eye movements into a communication tool can be a difficult task and requires a learning process (like surfing or tennis, for example). Demonstrations of the device and a space for practice (demo) can be found in this site.(demo).

In practice, the EOL device consists on a screen that presents the illusion effect and a camera mounted near one of the eyes to record its movement continuously. The computer manages the whole device (visual stimulation and recording of eye movements). If desired, an automatic recognition software enables eye traces' processing - which are sometimes clumsy- into easily readable signs (numbers, letters, words, etc. ..). The system also provides the ability to produce sounds that reflect eye movements, thus allowing production of sound and music.