The integration of electromyogram and eye gaze tracking inputs for hands-free cursor control

Electromyogram (EMG)-based and eye gaze tracking (EGT)-based hands-free cursor control input systems have been developed in the past as independent forms of cursor control. Each form of control possesses its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of usability. This paper presents a novel form of hands-free cursor control that integrates these two inputs in order to provide the user with the ability to manipulate the cursor more efficiently than the individual input systems operating in isolation. An experiment was conducted to compare the performance of this new EMG/EGT input system to EGT and mouse input systems in point-and-click trials. The results showed that while the EMG/EGT system was slower than the EGT system and the mouse, it produced a significantly smaller error rate than EGT input alone and therefore, EMG/EGT input could be considered to be a more usable form of hands-free cursor control when compared to EGT input.