Research on Interval of Involuntary Blink in Gazing at Application Window

Recently, the human-machine interface using information of user\u27s eye blink was reported. Eye blinks can be classified into voluntary (conscious) blinks and involuntary (unconscious) blinks. If the voluntary blinks can be distinguished in automatic, an input decision can be made when user\u27s voluntary blinks occur. By using this system, the usability of input is increased. We have proposed a new eye blink detection method that uses a Hi-Vision video camera. This method utilizes split interlace images of the eye. These split images are odd- and even- field images in the 1080i Hi-Vision format and are generated from interlaced images. The proposed method yields a time resolution that is double that in the 1080i Hi-Vision format. We refer to this approach as a <frame-splitting method<. We also proposed a method for automatic method for classifying eye blink types. This method can classify into voluntary and involuntary blink using the duration of eye blink. The durations of eye blinks depend on individuals. In other words, the input interface using our classification method requires a calibration. To design the calibration, we confirmed the intervals of involuntary blinks by an experiment. In this paper, we present the result of this experiment and discuss the designing for the calibration of input interface using information of voluntary blinks