Eyegaze EyeMouse Program

LC Technologies, Inc.

The EyeMouse program allows the user to operate Windows programs directly on his Eyegaze computer
screen. You perform mouse operations with your eyes only, using the on-screen gazepoint locator dot as
a pointer replacement for the manual mouse.

With the EyeMouse program, you point, i.e. position the cursor, by looking at a target object on the
screen or by visually selecting the direction of slow cursor motions. You click, i.e. activate the object, by
looking at off-screen keys positioned along the left and right edges of the monitor screen. Figure 1 shows
the off-screen keys.

Move Eye Pause

Image (Point Mode Only)

Left Single Right Single

Click Click

Left Double Windows Screen Keyboard

Click On/Off

(Active Display)
Left Click Right Click
And Drag And Drag

Start Cursor SPC P

Change
Follow Gaze Mouse Mode
CP
(SPC Mode)

Start Cursor
EXIT Exit EyeMouse
Direction
To Main Menu
(SPC Mode)

Monitor Bezel

Figure 1: EyeMouse Screen With Off-Screen Keys

(In contrast to the Eyegaze Computer Access Program, which controls a second PC, the EyeMouse
program operates Windows programs directly on the Eyegaze computer itself, and uses a single computer
screen rather than two.)

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 Eyegaze EyeMouse Program
Table of Contents
1 Installing the Off-Screen Keys on the Monitor Bezel................................................................ 4
2 Starting EyeMouse................................................................................................................... 4
3 Eye Image Display.................................................................................................................... 4
4 Visual Feedback for Off-Screen Keys ....................................................................................... 4
5 Sound Indicators ...................................................................................................................... 5
6 EyeMouse Modes of Operation................................................................................................. 5
6.1 Start-Point-Click Mode (SPC) (red) .....................................................................................5
6.2 Click-Point Mode (CP) (green) ............................................................................................6
6.3 Point Mode (Point) (blue) ....................................................................................................7
7 Selecting the Best EyeMouse Mode For You ............................................................................ 8
7.1 Mental Planning Issues.........................................................................................................8
7.2 Start-Point-Click (SPC) Mode ..............................................................................................8
7.3 Click-Point (CP) Mode.........................................................................................................9
7.4 Point Mode (Dwell Mode)....................................................................................................9
7.4.1 For the Novice..............................................................................................................9
7.4.2 Card Games .................................................................................................................9
8 Off-Screen Key Functions ...................................................................................................... 10
8.1 Start Cursor Keys (SPC Mode) ...........................................................................................10
8.1.1 Start-Cursor-FollowGaze Key (SPC Mode)..................................................................10
8.1.2 Start-Cursor-Direction Key (SPC Mode)......................................................................10
8.2 Standard Mouse-Click Keys ...............................................................................................10
8.3 Click-and-Drag Keys .........................................................................................................10
8.3.1 Click-and-Drag in Start-Point-Click Mode (SPC Mode)................................................11
8.3.2 Click-and-Drag in Click-Point (CP) and Point (P) Modes..............................................11
8.4 Change EyeMouse Mode Key.............................................................................................11
8.5 Toggle Keyboard On/Off Key.............................................................................................12
8.6 Pause Key (Point Mode).....................................................................................................12
8.7 Move Eye Display Key ......................................................................................................12
8.8 Exit EyeMouse Key...........................................................................................................12
9 Eye -Operated Keyboard......................................................................................................... 12
9.1 Keyboard Input Focus ........................................................................................................12
9.2 Selecting an Eye-Operated Keyboard..................................................................................13
9.3 User Configuring the Keyboard Program.............................................................................13
10 Setting EyeMouse Defaults ................................................................................................. 13
10.1 Default Settings for Normal EyeMouse ...............................................................................14
10.1.1 Setting the Gaze Duration – Normal EyeMouse – line 1................................................14
10.1.2 Setting the Smoothing Time – Normal EyeMouse – line 2.............................................14
10.1.3 Setting the Allowable EyeMouse Click Mode – Normal EyeMouse – lines 3-5...............14
10.1.4 Setting the Default Click Mode – Normal EyeMouse – line 6 ........................................14

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 10.1.5 Allowing the Mouse-Click Sounds to be Turned Off – Normal EyeMouse – line 7..........14
10.1.6 Allowing the Eye-Image Display to be Turned Off – Normal EyeMouse – line 8............14
10.1.7 Setting the Default Location of the Eye-Image Display – Normal EyeMouse – line 9......15
10.1.8 Setting the Cursor Speed for Fine Positioning – Normal EyeMouse – line 10..................15
10.2 Default Settings for Simple EyeMouse ................................................................................15
10.2.1 Setting the Gaze Duration – Simple EyeMouse – line 11 ...............................................15
10.2.2 Setting the Smoothing Time – Simple EyeMouse – line 12............................................15
10.2.3 Setting the Allowable EyeMouse Click Mode for Simple EyeMouse – line 13 & 14 .......15
10.2.4 Setting the Default Click Mode – Simple EyeMouse – line 15 .......................................15
10.2.5 Setting the Go Key Location – Simple EyeMouse – line 16 ...........................................16
10.2.6 Allowing the Mouse-Click Sounds to be Turned Off – Normal EyeMouse – line 17........16
10.2.7 Allowing the Eye-Image Display to be Turned Off – Simple EyeMouse – line 18 ...........16
10.2.8 Setting the Default Location of the Eye-Image Display – Simple EyeMouse – line 19.....16
10.3 Selecting a Keyboard – Normal EyeMouse – line 20 ............................................................16
10.4 User Editing EyeMouse.key by Himself ..............................................................................17
11 Manual Mouse Operation During EyeMouse Operation..................................................... 17
12 Manual Keyboard Controls During EyeMouse Operation.................................................. 17
13 Simple EyeMouse Program................................................................................................. 17
13.1 Point Mode (blue – uses no off-screen buttons) ...................................................................18
13.2 Click-Point (CP) Mode (green – uses Go button) .................................................................18
13.3 Caregiver Operations .........................................................................................................19
13.4 Switching Modes in Simple EyeMouse ...............................................................................19
13.5 Educational Software Settings for Use with EyeMouse.........................................................19

List of Figures
Figure 1: EyeMouse Screen With Off-Screen Keys..............................................................................1
Figure 2: EyeMouse Program Button on the Desktop Task Bar.............................................................4
Figure 3: Cursor Direction Grid ..........................................................................................................6
Figure 4: Cursor Direction Grid for Click-And-Drag..........................................................................11
Figure 5: Simple EyeMouse Screen...................................................................................................18

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 1 INSTALLING THE OFF-SCREEN KEYS ON THE MONITOR
BEZEL
The EyeMouse control keys are placed outside the active screen to avoid consuming screen space. Using
the Velcro strips, attach the two off-screen key templates to each side of the monitor bezel. Put the
template with the left-click keys on the left side and the template with the right click keys on the right
side. As shown in Figure 1, the tops and bottoms of the templates should be lined up with the top and
bottom edges of the Eyegaze screen.

(The templates must be sized to match the height of the monitor screen. If you change monitor sizes,
contact LC Technologies to obtain templates of the correct size.)

For installation of the offscreen “Go” key in Simple EyeMouse, see Section 13.6.

2 STARTING EYEMOUSE
You start EyeMouse by selecting it from the Eyegaze System’s Main Menu. When EyeMouse starts,
three things happen:

a) The Windows Desktop appears on the screen.

b) “EyeMouse” program buttons, shown in Figure 2, appear in the Windows Task Bar to indicate
that the EyeMouse Program is running (color indicates mode), and

Figure 2: EyeMouse Program Button on the Desktop Task Bar

c) The Eye Image Display appears on the screen. (See Figure 1 back on page 1.)

The EyeMouse program is now ready to operate.

3 EYE IMAGE DISPLAY

The Eye Image Display sits ‘on top of’ any other windows that may be displayed on the screen. If the
Eye Image Display is in the way of other information on the screen, you can move it or remove it from
the display entirely. (See Section 8.7.)

4 VISUAL FEEDBACK FOR OFF-SCREEN KEYS

When your gaze falls within one of the off-screen keys, an indicator bar appears on the screen alongside
the off-screen key. This provides visual feedback to indicate that the system is tracking your eye and that
it recognizes your gaze within the adjacent key.

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 5 SOUND INDICATORS
The EyeMouse program provides audible cues for each click and point operation. Single mouse clicks
make a single click sound. Double mouse clicks make two rapid click sounds. A tone sounds when you
point to (select) an on-screen object. Click-and-drag operations produce one tone when the drag is started
(mouse button down), and a higher pitched tone when the drag is completed (mouse button up).

Each EyeMouse mode has a unique tone that sounds when the mode is toggled.

The EyeMouse sounds may be disabled if desired. (See Sections 10.1.6 and 10.2.7)

6 EYEMOUSE MODES OF OPERATION

With a conventional manual mouse, the sequence of operations always consists of pointing first,
followed by clicking. The user first positions the cursor on the object of interest, and he then clicks the
appropriate mouse-click key.

With EyeMouse, there are three alternate sequences for performing mouse operations:

Mode Name Abbreviated Name color code

• Start-Point-Click SPC red

• Click-Point CP green
• Point Point blue

In each of these modes, pointing to an object on the screen may be accomplished by stopping your gaze
on the object for a given period of time (the gaze duration, or “Fixation Trigger Time”), and clicking is
accomplished by stopping your gaze on one of the off-screen keys. (The gaze duration is set in the
EyeMouse.key file. See Sections 10.1.1 and 10.2.1.) The off-screen keys are activated the same way as
other keys in the Eyegaze Communication System (ECS).

Users may choose the EyeMouse mode most comfortable to them. (The method for switching the
EyeMouse mode is discussed in Sections 8.4).

6.1 Start-Point-Click Mode (SPC) (red)

In the Start-Point-Click mode, you perform three steps with your eyes.

1) Start: You start the process by looking at one of the Start Cursor keys, i.e. one of the two off-screen
keys at the lower left. The start key “wakes up” the cursor and puts it in motion.

2) Point:

a) If you start the cursor with the Start Cursor Follow Gaze key, the cursor now follows your gaze.

b) If you start the cursor with the Start Cursor Direction key, a direction grid, illustrated in Figure
3, appears on the screen next to the cursor. When you visually select a direction for the cursor to
move, the cursor begins to move slowly in the direction you’ve chosen. You watch the cursor as
it moves, and when it gets where you want, you glance away or blink to stop its motion.

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 Figure 3: Cursor Direction Grid

3) Click: With the cursor now stopped, you activate your desired click operation by looking at the
appropriate off-screen click key, for example the right-click key. Once you activate the click key,
EyeMouse executes your mouse command. After the mouse command is executed, the mouse cursor
goes back to sleep until you hit one of the Start Cursor keys again.

In summary, a Start-Point-Click operation consists of 3 visual steps:

Step Your Eye Action EyeMouse Program Action

1. Start: a) Look at Start Cursor Follow Gaze Cursor wakes up, follows gaze
b) Look at Start Cursor Direction key Direction Grid appears
(off-screen key)

2. Point: a) Look at an object Cursor stops when gaze stops

b) Select Cursor Direction Cursor starts moving
(on-screen object) (Stop cursor by glancing away)

3. Click: Look at a mouse-click key Action Occurs,

(off-screen key) EyeMouse goes to sleep

When you want to move the cursor a long distance from its current location, it is often desirable to use
both options a and b listed above. First, use option a: use Start Cursor Follow Gaze to drag the cursor
rapidly with your gaze. The cursor stops when you fixate on the target location, but often its location is
not exact enough to select the object you want. Second, use option b: use Start Cursor Direction to
position the cursor more precisely.

6.2 Click-Point Mode (CP) (green)

In the Click-Point mode, you perform two steps with your eyes.

1) Click: You look at the off-screen mouse-click key you want. When you select an action type, the
mouse cursor then starts following your gaze on the screen.

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2) Point: You stop your gaze at the object on the screen you wish to select. At this point, the cursor
stops and EyeMouse executes your previously selected mouse command. After the mouse command is
executed, the cursor stays asleep until you select another off-screen click key.

In summary, a Click-Point operation consists of 2 visual steps:

Step Your Eye Action EyeMouse Program Action

1. Click: Look at a mouse-click key Cursor wakes up, follows gaze

(off-screen key)

2. Point: Look at an object Cursor stops,

(on-screen object) Action occurs,
EyeMouse goes to sleep

The Click-Point mode can be more efficient than the Start-Point-Click mode because it requires fewer
visual operations. On the other hand, it does not offer the opportunity to reposition the cursor after
pointing, since EyeMouse executes the mouse command as soon as you stop your gaze at a point on the
screen.

You can terminate a Click-Point procedure by looking far off the screen. EyeMouse also terminates the
procedure automatically if you do not complete it within a given timeout period.

6.3 Point Mode (Point) (blue)

The Point mode is similar to the Click-Point mode except that the cursor keeps moving after each point
operation. EyeMouse issues a new mouse command (of the type you originally selected) each time you
stop your gaze and dwell on a point on the screen. The Point mode is useful when you want to perform
the same mouse operation repeatedly, such as typing and playing games with repetitive operations.

The Point mode can be highly efficient because mouse commands are executed in a single visual pointing
step (just as they are in the normal, direct-selection process of the standard Eyegaze communications
programs):

Step Your Eye Action EyeMouse Program Action

1. Point: Look at an object Action occurs

(on-screen object). Cursor keeps moving

You only need to look at an off-screen key when you wish to change the type of mouse operation. On the
other hand, the Point mode is unforgiving; you have to keep your eyes moving. If you wish to pause and
look at something without clicking it, activate the Pause key or change the EyeMouse mode.

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 7 SELECTING THE BEST EYEMOUSE MODE FOR YOU
7.1 Mental Planning Issues
A key part of any computer operation activity, of course, is the mental planning of what you want to do
next. As discussed above, the EyeMouse program has three gaze-operated modes for performing point-
and-click operations. In selecting the mode that is best for you, or for the person in your care, it is
important to consider the role of mental planning when performing point-and-click operations. In
particular, the questions are: When in the procedure do you do your planning, and how does your
planning fit into the Mouse Mode that you have selected?

Though the EyeMouse program does not take any active role in your planning, the planning function may
be viewed as an explicit step, the first step, within each mode:

Step Your Action EyeMouse Program Action

A. Plan: Decide what you want to do – None –

Find the appropriate object on screen
Decide which click operation

As shown above, the planning step generally involves three key sub steps. First you have to decide what
action you want to take, such as start a program, open a menu, or execute a specific program operation.
Second, you have to find where on the screen the appropriate object is to execute that action. You may
have to search for the object, or, if you are familiar with the program, you may already know where the
object is. Third, you have to decide which type of click operation you want to perform (e.g. single -left-
click or left-click-and-drag). Only with these three pieces of planning information in mind are you really
ready to start executing an EyeMouse procedure.

Here is how the planning step fits into each of the three EyeMouse modes:

The Start-Point-Click (SPC) and Click-Point (CP) modes are designed to make it easy to plan. Since the
EyeMouse “goes to sleep” after each click operation, there is a built-in opportunity between each click to
plan the next operation. Both of these modes take multiple steps to perform a click operation, but with
the cursor going to sleep between clicks, it is easy to plan the next click.

7.2 Start-Point-Click (SPC) Mode

Step Your Action EyeMouse Program Action

A. Plan: Decide what you want to do Cursor is asleep

Find the appropriate object on screen
Decide which click operation

1. Start: a) Look at Start Cursor Follow Gaze Cursor wakes up, follows gaze
b) Look at Start Cursor Direction key Direction Grid appears

2. Point: a) Look at an object Cursor stops when gaze stops

b) Select Cursor Direction Cursor starts moving

3. Click: Look at a mouse-click key Click Action Occurs,

EyeMouse goes to sleep

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 7.3 Click-Point (CP) Mode

Step Your Action EyeMouse Program Action

A. Plan: Decide what you want to do Cursor is asleep

Find the appropriate object on screen
Decide which click operation

1. Click: Look at a mouse-click key Cursor wakes up, follows gaze

2. Point: Look at an object Cursor stops,

Click Action occurs,
EyeMouse goes to sleep

In the Point mode, however, the cursor never goes to sleep. Thus you have to do your planing while the
cursor is on the move -- following your gaze. If, while you are planning, you stop your gaze at the wrong
place by mistake, the object gets selected, whether you wanted it or not:

7.4 Point Mode (Dwell Mode)

Step Your Eye Action EyeMouse Program Action

A. Plan: Decide what you want to do Cursor is MOVING

Find the appropriate object on screen
Decide which click operation

1. Point: Stop at an object Click Action occurs

Cursor keeps moving

Thus, in sophisticated computer operations, the Point mode is designed for the experienced expert – the
person who can think fast, “on the fly”.

7.4.1 For the Novice

Curiously, however, the Point mode is also very useful for the novice. Given that the computer is running
a specially-designed program that contains only icons designed to be left-single -clicked, the Point mode is
excellent for providing single -step selection. See Section 13.

7.4.2 Card Games

The Point mode is also useful for card games where you move cards around. Switch to Point mode, select
the Left-Click-and-Drag operation and start to play. When you first fixate on a card, you pick it up.
When you next fixate, you put it down. It requires good eye skill, but its pretty quick.

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 8 OFF-SCREEN KEY FUNCTIONS
The off-screen keys perform the following functions:

8.1 Start Cursor Keys (SPC Mode)

In the Start-Point-Click mode, there are two ways to move the cursor – using either the Follow Gaze
(cyan, long arrow) or Direction (yellow, short arrow) cursor positioning keys on the lower left of the
screen.

8.1.1 Start-Cursor-Follow-Gaze Key (cyan, long-arrow icon - SPC Mode)

The Start-Cursor-Follow-Gaze key provides a quick way to move the cursor large distances. After
selecting the Follow-Gaze key, the cursor follows your gaze until you fixate, at which time the cursor
stops. To move the cursor a large distance, you look at the Start-Cursor-Follow-Gaze key, move your
gaze to the place you want the cursor, and then fixate. At this point, if the cursor is positioned accurately
enough, you may hit one of the click keys to activate the process you want.

8.1.2 Start-Cursor-Direction Key (yellow, short arrow icon - SPC Mode)

If the cursor is close to where you want it but not precisely positioned, you can use the Start-Cursor-
Direction key to make small, well-controlled cursor posit ion adjustments. When you activate the Start-
Cursor-Direction key, an 8-way grid of arrow keys pops up on the screen next to the cursor. (See Figure
Figure 3, back on page 6.) After you visually select one of these direction keys, the cursor begins to move
slowly in the direction you chose. When the cursor gets exactly where you want it, glance away or blink
your eyes, and the cursor stops. With the cursor now precisely where you want it, you are ready to
activate the click key you want.

Note: Before clicking on an object, you may perform any sequence of large and fine cursor adjustments
to get the cursor where you want it.

8.2 Standard Mouse-Click Keys

• Left Click
• Left Double Click
• Right Click

The standard mouse-click off-screen keys perform the same operations as a conventional, manual mouse.

In the Start-Point-Click (SPC) mode, you activate one of these keys once you have the cursor where you
want it, and the click operation occurs when you hit the click key.

In the Click-Point (CP) and Point (P) modes, you use these keys to select the type of operation you want
to perform, and the selected click operation occurs later when you fixate on your target object.

8.3 Click-and-Drag Keys

• Left Click & Drag

• Right Click & Drag

To perform Click-and-Drag operations with EyeMouse, you look at two locations on the screen. The first
fixation ‘picks’ the object and the second fixation ‘drops’ it.

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 8.3.1 Click-and-Drag in Start-Point-Click Mode (SPC Mode)

In the Start-Point-Click mode, you first activate one of the Start Cursor keys and position the cursor on
the object of interest. Then you activate a Click-and-Drag key. When you activate a Click-and-Drag key,
a variation of the direction-key grid appears as shown in Figure 4. This grid, however, includes an option
in center position for the cursor to track the gaze. Thus you may now choose to a) drag the cursor rapidly
(and less precisely) with your gaze, or b) move the cursor slowly and precisely in a selected direction.

Figure 4: Cursor Direction Grid for Click-And-Drag

If you select the drag-cursor option, the cursor begins to follow your gaze, ‘dragging’ the object with it.
Finally, when you fixate for the second time, EyeMouse stops the cursor and drops the object.

On the other hand, if you select a direction key with an arrow in it, the cursor begins to move in the
direction you selected. The cursor stops moving when you glance away or blink.

8.3.2 Click-and-Drag in Click-Point (CP) and Point (P) Modes

In the Click-Point (CP) and Point (P) modes, you click the Click-and-Drag key first. The cursor then
follows your gaze until you fixate, at which time the cursor begins to drag the object you fixated on. You
then move your gaze to the target location and fixate a second time, at which point EyeMouse drops the
object.

8.4 Change EyeMouse Mode Key

The Change EyeMouse Mode key toggles the EyeMouse mode between its three operating modes. The
following mode abbreviations are used:

SPC Start-Point-Click mode Red

CP Click-Point mode Green
Point Point mode Blue

To provide feedback to the user, the current program mode (SPC, CP, or Point) is displayed in the
EyeMouse program button on the Windows Task Bar at the bottom of the screen. The color of the off-
screen key indicators also vary with the mode.

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 8.5 Toggle Keyboard On/Off Key
When you want to type while in EyeMouse, activate the off-screen Toggle Keyboard On/Off key. This
causes a keyboard to appear on screen. When the keyboard appears, it automatically goes into a Type
mode where you type ‘normally,’ i.e. simply by looking at the keys. Note: The Type mode is
independent

When you want to dismiss the keyboard, activate the Toggle Keyboard On/Off key again. This time the
key turns the keyboard off. When you toggle the keyboard off, the EyeMouse Click mode returns to the
mode (SPC, CP, or Point) it was in before you activated the keyboard.

For more notes on keyboard usage, see Section 9.

8.6 Pause Key (Point Mode)

If you are in the Point mode, and you want a break from continued clicking, hit the Pause key. The
cursor stops until you hit the Pause again, which toggles the Pause mode back off. When the Point mode
is paused, bar next to the key turns yellow.)

Note: The Pause key does nothing in the Start-Point-Click (SPC) or Click-Point (CP) modes.

8.7 Move Eye Display Key

The Move Eye Display key moves the Eye Image Displays between the four corners of the screen, and it
allows you to turn the Eye Display off completely. Successive keystrokes cause the display to cycle
through the five states, i.e. through the 4 corners and off.

Note: The “off” state of the Eye Display may be disabled. See Sections 10.1.7 and 10.2.8.

8.8 Exit EyeMouse Key

Selecting the Exit EyeMouse key returns the screen to the Eyegaze System’s Main Menu.

You can also look at the camera to exit EyeMouse and return to the Main Menu.

Note: When you leave EyeMouse, the program states are saved and reset when you return, so feel free to
go back to the Main Menu without losing your place in EyeMouse.

9 EYE-OPERATED KEYBOARD
9.1 Keyboard Input Focus
With computer operating systems, there may be several open windows displayed on screen at any one
time. When you type on a manual keyboard, the characters only “go to” one of those windows, the
window that has what is called the “keyboard input focus.” The window with the keyboard input focus
typically has its widow title bar highlighted in blue.

EyeMouse’s keyboard works the same way a manual keyboard does. Its output characters go to the
window with the blue focus. When you want to type into a certain window, you must put the focus on
that window before you activate the keyboard. To move the focus to your desired window, place the
cursor somewhere in the window and click it. The window’s title bar then turns blue, indicating that it
now has the focus. You are now ready to turn on the keyboard and type into your selected window.

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 9.2 Selecting an Eye-Operated Keyboard
See Section 10.3.

9.3 User Configuring the Keyboard Program

In addition to allowing a user to type with his eyes, EyeMouse allows the user to modify the settings in
the keyboard program. Thus he can configure the program himself, without caregiver assistance.

As discussed in Section 8.5, when you bring up the keyboard (with the Keyboard-On/Off key),
EyeMouse automatically switches to a dwell mode so you can type by dwelling on the keys.

When you want to modify the keyboard settings, however, you need full mouse-control interaction with
the keyboard program to operate the keyboard menu operations. To establish this mouse control, hit the
Change-Mouse-Mode key. EyeMouse then switches to the Start-Point-Click mode, so you can configure
the keyboard program as you would any other program. When you are in the Start-Point-Click mode to
configure the keyboard program, a yellow indicator bar appears next to the Change-Mouse-Mode key to
indicate that you are configuring the keyboard program, as opposed to typing with it.

If you hit the Change-Mouse-Mode key a second time (while the keyboard is present) EyeMouse toggles
back to the Dwell mode so you can resume typing. (The yellow indic ator disappears when the system
returns to the typing mode.)

NOTE: After making changes to the keyboard program, it is necessary to exit the keyboard program
normally (i.e. by clicking the exit button with the cursor) in order to make the changes “stick.” If you exit
the keyboard program by toggling the off-screen Keyboard key, your keyboard changes will be lost.

10 SETTING EYEMOUSE DEFAULTS

Many of the parameters that control the EyeMouse program are settable by editing a file called
C:\Eyegaze\EyeMouse.key.
0.50 ; 1 Normal EyeMouse, fixation-trigger time in seconds (0.25 to 2.0, 0.5 typical)
0.50 ; 2 Normal EyeMouse, fixation-trigger diameter in inches (0.25 to 2.0, 0.5 typical)
0.20 ; 3 Normal EyeMouse, cursor smoothing time in seconds (0.12 to 1.0, 0.2 typical)
1 ; 4 Normal EyeMouse, Start-Point-Click mode enabled (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
1 ; 5 Normal EyeMouse, Click-Point mode enabled (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
1 ; 6 Normal EyeMouse, Point mode enabled (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
0 ; 7 Normal EyeMouse, default mode: 0 = Start-Point-Click, 1 = Click-Point, 2 = Point
1 ; 8 Normal EyeMouse, Click sounds enabled (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
1 ; 9 Normal EyeMouse, EyeImage Off enalbled: (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
1 ; 10 Normal EyeMouse, EyeImage default location: 0 = off, 1-4 corners
10 ; 11 Normal EyeMouse, Cursor Speed for Fine Positioning, pix/sec: (3 to 30, 10 typical)
0.75 ; 12 Normal EyeMouse, fixation-trigger time in seconds (0.25 to 2.0, 0.7 typical)
0.75 ; 13 Normal EyeMouse, fixation-trigger diameter in inches (0.25 to 2.0, 0.75 typical)
0.20 ; 14 Simple EyeMouse, cursor smoothing time in seconds (0.12 to 1.0, 0.2 typical)
1 ; 15 Simple EyeMouse, Go-Mode enabled (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
1 ; 16 Simple EyeMouse, Point mode enabled (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
1 ; 17 Simple EyeMouse, default mode: 1 = Go-Mode, 2 = Point Mode
1 ; 18 Simple EyeMouse, Go key location: 0 = left, 1 = right
1 ; 19 Simple EyeMouse, Click sounds enabled (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
1 ; 20 Simple EyeMouse, EyeImage Off enalbled: (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled)
1 ; 21 Simple EyeMouse, EyeImage default location: 0 = off, 1-4 corners
C:\Program Files\Eurovocs Suite\KeyVit English\KeyVit.exe
C:\Program Files\Click-N-Type\Click-N-Type.exe

On lines 1 through 17, edit only the numbers at the left.

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 10.1 Default Settings for Normal EyeMouse
Lines 1 through 11 of the EyeMouse.key file control the operation of ‘Normal’ EyeMouse.

10.1.1 Setting the Fixation Trigger Time – Normal EyeMouse – line 1

When the cursor is following your gaze, the Fixation Trigger Time specifies the length of time you have
to hold your gaze still to stop the cursor or select an icon. The Fixation Trigger Time may be set between
0.5 and 2.0 seconds.

10.1.2 Setting the Fixation Trigger Diameter – Normal EyeMouse – line 2

When the cursor is following your gaze, the Fixation Diameter specifies how precisely you have to hold
your gaze to stop the cursor or select an icon. The Fixation Diameter may be set between 0.5 and 2.0
inches.

10.1.3 Setting the Cursor Smoothing Time – Normal EyeMouse – line 3

When the cursor is following your gaze, its motion is smoothed so it does not appear too jumpy.
Increasing the smoothing time, makes the cursor motion smoother, but also slows it down. The cursor
smoothing time may be set between 0.12 and 1.0 seconds.

10.1.4 Setting the Allowable EyeMouse Click Mode – Normal EyeMouse – lines 4-6

It is possible to “disable” unwanted EyeMouse Click modes in the EyeMouse.key file. In the Normal
EyeMouse configuration, the three possible modes are Start-Point-Click (SPC), Click-Point (CP) and
Point (P). Any of these three modes may be disabled by placing a 0 in the corresponding entry at the
beginning of the lines 4 through 6.

For example, putting a 0 at the beginning of line 5 disables the Click-Point (CP) mode. Thus when the
user activates the Change Mouse Mode key, the mode will toggle only between SPC and P.

Note: At least one mode Normal EyeMouse must be allowed.

10.1.5 Setting the Default Click Mode – Normal EyeMouse – line 7

Line 7 specifies which mode (SPC, CP or Point) Normal EyeMouse comes up in.

Notes:
1. The default mode for Normal EyeMouse must be 0 (SPC), 1 (CP), or 2 (Point).
2. The default mode must be an allowed mode.

10.1.6 Allowing the Mouse-Click Sounds to be Turned Off – Normal EyeMouse – line 8

Normal EyeMouse’s sounds may be turned on or off on line 8.

10.1.7 Allowing the Eye-Image Display to be Turned Off – Normal EyeMouse – line 9

If the Eye-Image Display is allowed to be turned off, toggling the Move Eye Display key causes the Eye
Display to shift between 5 states: the four corners and “off.” If the Eye Display is not allowed to be
turned off, the Eye Display only moves between the four corners.

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 10.1.8 Setting the Default Location of the Eye-Image Display – Normal EyeMouse – line 10

Line 10 specifies the default location for the Eye-Image display in Normal EyeMouse:

0 off
1 upper right
2 upper left
3 lower left
4 lower right

10.1.9 Setting the Cursor Speed for Fine Positioning – Normal EyeMouse – line 11

The cursor speed for fine position control may vary between 3 and 30 pixels per second. 10 pixels per
second is nominal.

10.2 Default Settings for Simple EyeMouse

Lines 12 through 21 of the EyeMouse.key file control the operation of ‘Simple’ EyeMouse.

10.2.1 Setting the Fixation Trigger Time – Simple EyeMouse – line 12

When the cursor is following your gaze, the Fixation Trigger Time specifies the length of time you have
to hold your gaze still to stop the cursor or select an icon. The Fixation Trigger Time may be set between
0.5 and 2.0 seconds.

10.2.2 Setting the Fixation Trigger Diameter – Normal EyeMouse – line 13

When the cursor is following your gaze, the Fixation Diameter specifies how precisely you have to hold
your gaze to stop the cursor or select an icon. The Fixation Diameter may be set between 0.5 and 2.0
inches.

10.2.3 Setting the Cursor Smoothing Time – Simple EyeMouse – line 14

When the cursor is following your gaze, its motion is smoothed so it does not appear too jumpy.
Increasing the smoothing time, makes the cursor motion smoother, but also slows it down. The cursor
smoothing time may be set between 0.12 and 1.0 seconds.

10.2.4 Setting the Allowable EyeMouse Click Mode for Simple EyeMouse – line 15 & 16

It is possible to “disable ” an unwanted EyeMouse Click modes in the EyeMouse.key file. In the Simple
EyeMouse configuration, there are two possible modes: GO mode (i.e. Click-Point) and Point (P). Either
of these two modes may be disallowed by placing a 0 in the corresponding entry, e.g. 0 at the beginning
of line 16 disables the Point mode. If either mode is disabled, pressing the M key has no effect on
changing the mode.

Note: At least one Simple EyeMouse mode must be allowed.

10.2.5 Setting the Default Click Mode – Simple EyeMouse – line 17

Line 17 specifies which mode Simple EyeMouse will come up in.

Notes:
1. The default mode for Simple EyeMouse must be 1, or 2.
2. The default mode must be an allowed mode.

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 10.2.6 Setting the Go Key Location – Simple EyeMouse – line 18

The GO key on the Simple EyeMouse program may be positioned on the right or left side of the screen.

Note: Make sure the physical location of the GO key label on the monitor corresponds to the location
designated in the EyeMouse.key file.

10.2.7 Allowing the Mouse-Click Sounds to be Turned Off – Normal EyeMouse – line 19

Simple EyeMouse’s sounds may be turned on or off on line 19.

10.2.8 Allowing the Eye-Image Display to be Turned Off – Simple EyeMouse – line 20

If the Eye-Image Display is allowed to be turned off, toggling the Move Eye Display key causes the Eye
Display to shift between 5 states: the four corners and “off.” If the Eye Display is not allowed to be
turned off, the Eye Display only moves between the four corners.

10.2.9 Setting the Default Location of the Eye-Image Display – Simple EyeMouse – line 21

Line 21 specifies the default location for the Eye-Image display in Simple EyeMouse:

0 off
1 upper right
2 upper left
3 lower left
4 lower right

10.3 Selecting a Keyboard – Normal EyeMouse – line 22

Several off-the-shelf keyboard programs may be used with Normal EyeMouse. Line 22 in the
EyeMouse.key specifies the full path and program name for the keyboard program the user wants to use
in EyeMouse.

If you wish to use a particular keyboard program, such as Click-N-Type, KeyVit, or ScreenDoors:

1. Install the keyboard program on the Eyegaze System computer,

2. Enter the program name with its full path on line 22 of the C:\Eyegaze\EyeMouse.key file, and

3. Configure the keyboard program parameters to operate in “dwell” mode with a desired dwell
time.

The EyeMouse program then allows you type on the EyeMouse keyboard the same way you type on the
Eyegaze keyboards, and the characters you type go to the window with the focus. (See Section 9.1.)

Notes:
1. Do not add a line number of a comment at the end of line 22; the line must contain only the
keyboard program’s path and file name.
2. The EyeMouse program does not read information after line 22 in the EyeMouse.key file. If you
want to try alternative keyboard programs, you can install all the keyboard programs you’d like to
try, keep the full path names of each program in separate lines at the end of the EyeMouse.key
file, and change keyboard programs by simply switching the lines at the end of the file.

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 10.4 User Editing EyeMouse.key by Himself
The user may edit the EyeMouse.key file himself by bringing up a text editor, such as Notepad, within the
EyeMouse program.

Note, however, that changes in the EyeMouse.key file take effect only when you enter EyeMouse from
the Main Menu. Thus, after you edit a parameter in the EyeMouse.key file, you must save the file, exit
EyeMouse to the Main Menu, and re-enter EyeMouse. Then you will see the results of your changes.

11 MANUAL MOUSE OPERATION DURING EYEMOUSE

OPERATION
The manual mouse continues to be operational when the EyeMouse program is running. When the
Eyegaze user is controlling the cursor with his eye, gaze position takes priority over manual mouse
movements. When the user is not directly controlling the cursor position, however, manual mouse
movements control the cursor location.

Click operations from the manual mouse are always operational.

12 MANUAL KEYBOARD CONTROLS DURING EYEMOUSE

OPERATION
The caregiver can perform several operations in the EyeMouse program by pressing the following keys
on the manual keyboard:

L Left Click
R Right Click
S Start (SPC mode)
P Pause (Point mode)
M Toggle Between Modes
E Change the Eye Image Display Position
Esc Exit EyeMouse (return to Eyegaze Main Menu)

For the above keys to work, however, the EyeMouse program must have the Windows focus, (i.e.
EyeMouse must be the active program to which the Windows operating system is passing the mouse and
keyboard inputs). To give EyeMouse the focus, move the cursor into either the Eye Image Display region
or onto the EyeMouse program button on the Windows Task Bar, and click the mouse. Then press the
manual key you want.

13 SIMPLE EYEMOUSE PROGRAM

Many educational software programs for young children with disabilities utilize large icons and require
only single -click operations. To allow children to operate this software with Eyegaze, LC Technologies
developed a simplified version of the EyeMouse program. As illustrated in Figure 5, the “Simple”
EyeMouse program has only one off-screen key, rather than the 11 off-screen keys used by the full
EyeMouse program.

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 Windows Screen
Go
(left click)
(Active Display)

Monitor Bezel

Figure 5: Simple EyeMouse Screen

There are two alternative modes of operation in the Simple EyeMouse program:
13.1 Point Mode (blue – uses no off-screen buttons)
In the Point mode, the user selects objects simply by fixating on them for a period of time equal to the
Gaze Duration. The Windows mouse cursor continuously follows the user’s gazepoint, and the
EyeMouse program performs a left-click operation each time the user fixates on an object.
A key advantage of the Point mode is that a minimum number of user operations are required to perform
a selection. The user simply fixates on an object to select it. The user does not use the offscreen Go key
in the Point mode. Because of its simplicity, the Point mode is particularly well suited for beginning
Eyegaze users.
The simplicity of the Point mode is also a disadvantage, however. If the user fixates on an object for long
enough, he sele cts it whether or not he actually intends to select it. To minimize unintentional selections
when just looking around the screen, a longer Gaze Duration is recommended for the Point mode.

13.2 Click-Point (CP) Mode (green – uses Go button)

In the Click-Point (CP) mode, the user performs two steps to make a selection. First, he looks at the off-
screen Go key. At that point, the cursor begins to follow his gaze. Then, he selects an object by fixating
on it. After making a selection, the cursor stops moving.
A key advantage of the Click-Point mode over the Point mode is that, once the cursor has stopped, the
user may look anywhere he wishes, for as long as he wants, without inadvertently selecting an object.
When he wants to select an object, he looks at the Go key and then selects his desired object.

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In the CP mode, the Gaze Duration may be set to shorter values in order to speed up the selection process.
Learning to use the Click and Point mode in the Simple EyeMouse program is an important step toward
using the full EyeMouse program.

13.3 Caregiver Operations

Manual controls for the Simple EyeMouse program are essentially the same as those for the full
EyeMouse program. See the sections “Manual Mouse Operation During EyeMouse Operation” and
“Manual Keyboard Controls During EyeMouse Operation.”

13.4 Switching Modes in Simple EyeMouse

Only a caregiver can change modes in Simple EyeMouse. As discussed in Section 12, press the M key to
toggle between modes.

13.5 Educational Software Settings for Use with EyeMouse

The EyeMouse program is designed to provide standard mouse inputs to the applications programs it
runs. Some applications programs, such as Mayer-Johnson’s Speaking Dynamically Pro, have options for
multiple modes of user-input operation. When setting up applications programs that have alternative
input modes, configure these applications programs to use “standard” or “direct” mouse inputs.
It is particularly important not to use any dwell-time controls provided by the applications programs.
(These dwell-time options, similar to EyeMouse, allow the user to generate mouse-click commands
without physically activating a click button.) Since the EyeMouse program handles all dwell-activated
mouse-click operations, no dwell-time controls should ever be activated in the applications program.

13.6 Installing the Offscreen “Go” Key

The offscreen “Go” key used with Simple EyeMouse may be attached on the either the right or left side of
the monitor screen. Set the vertical height of the key to be centered on the screen. Designate the side you
have selected in the EyeMouse.key file, as discussed in Section 10.2.6.

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