A novel approach to the eye movement analysis using a high speed camera

In this paper a new method of eye blink detection and analysis is proposed. The described technique is based on a combination of spatial and temporal derivatives calculated in video sequences acquired with a high speed camera. The pixels of each frame are divided into two groups according to the direction and magnitude of the hybrid gradient vectors and the distance between their centers of gravity is used for the determination of the eye movement characteristics. Preliminary experiments revealed a high detection rate of eye blinks, which is not dependent on the change of head position. The proposed technique can also be used for the analysis of eye movements and can be utilized in systems which are monitoring human fatigue, drowsiness and emotional states.