A Comparison of the Performance of Webcam vs. Infrared Eye Tracking Technology

This study compares results obtained using the SMI infrared and Sticky webcam eye tracking technologies. Participants viewed a series of images twice, once using each technology. A comparison of the results shows that the infrared equipment is more accurate for smaller images, particularly those farther from the center of the screen. Infrared technology is also a better option when it is important to capture dwell time. For larger images, however, the webcam technology achieved accuracy similar to SMI infrared in capturing the percent of participants who fixated on a particular stimulus. For testing that uses reasonably sized images and avoids the periphery of the screen, the webcam system appears to be a viable alternative for determining whether the stimulus is noted. This finding has implications for how eye tracking may be used as part of market research and usability testing.