Virtual Reality Based Gaze-Sensitive Aiming Task Platform:

Role of Attention Allocation in Task Performance for Individuals With Autism and
Typically Developing Individuals

Dharma Rane, Prachi Sharma, Madhu Singh, Uttama Lahiri

( IIT Gandhinagar / B. M. Institute of Mental Health , India )

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING, 2023

Cheng Hung

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Outline
1. Introduction

2. System design

3. Experiments setup and procedure

4. Experimental result

5. Conclusion

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Introduction
• Background ：
1. Differences in motor preparation for aiming tasks exist between individuals with ASD and normally developing (TD) individuals, but
there is limited evidence on the contribution of the motor preparation window.

2. Most of the studies involved TD individuals, and only a few involved ASD individuals.

3. Individuals with ASD often exhibit difficulties with motor preparation and allocating attention to different regions of interest (ROIs) of
visual stimuli.

• Research purpose ：
● The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the planning window prior to exercise initiation on a person's aiming performance.

• Research Methods ：
● Use VR - based gaze sensitive long-range aiming (dart throwing) task and monitors participants' gaze patterns as they interact with the
task environment.

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System design
• They design a VR-based gaze-sensitive dart (throwing) aiming task platform called “VG dart”

• VGdart consists of ：
1. computer for task presentation
2. dart - release switch assembly
3. hand tracker with tracker data acquisition (TrackerDAQ)
4. eye tracker module

Fig. 1. Block diagram representation of Virtual Reality dart throwing setup. (Note: DAQ represents data acquisition system.) 4
System design cont.

Fig. 2. Data Flow diagram.

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 System design cont.
• Computer for Task Presentation ：

● GUI for aiming tasks developed using Vizard software (from Worldviz Llc).

● Once the dart hits any point in the area, the corresponding balloon is programmed to disappear and the VGDART platform records the
attempt as "successful". Otherwise, the attempt is recorded as "unsuccessful".

40 pixels
60 pixels

2.37 m

Fig. 3. (a) Visual display of VR environment segmented into different Regions of Interest (ROI), (b) successful attempt (dart strike inside Hitzones) (c) unsuccessful attempt (dart strike outside Hitzones and with error Ep).
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System design cont.
• Dart - Release Switch Assembly ：
● Includes (i) a lightweight (6.0 x 6.0 x 5.0mm) pushbutton switch and (ii) Dart ReleaseDAQ.
● Used to detect the opening of the hand of a person who is simulating the release of darts in a VR environment.
● The OFF to ON transition of the switch is used to trigger the release of the virtual darts.

• Hand Tracker with Tracker Data Acquisition (TrackerDAQ) ：

● Consists of a Fastrak electromagnetic tracker with a lightweight receiver unit and a transmitter unit.
● Based on the position of the human hand in the physical space, the 3D coordinates of the tracker receiver are converted to 2D
coordinates (x, y).

• Eye Tracker Module ：

● Used to track eye movements, especially in the appearance mode
prior to the release of darts.
● The module includes a desktop-mounted Tobii 4c oculomotor that
acquires gaze data at a sampling rate of 90 Hz.
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Experiments setup and procedure
• Participant ：
● 20 for ASD group and 20 for TD group. (age-matched individuals)
● between the ages of 5 and 15
● able to understand instructions
● without any motor impairment
● not using any eyeglasses
● not having undergone any recent eye-related surgery.

• Experimental Process ：
1. Participants enter the learning room and have a brief introduction and discussion with the experimenter.
2. The experimenter shows the experimental setup and demonstrates the task to the participants, who are informed they can request a break
during the task.
3. Participants sign a consent form, put on gloves, and perform a VR-based dart aiming task.
4. Participants perform 20 trials in the task, attempting to hit the HitzoneS of balloons to make them disappear.
5. When the task is completed, a message appears on the task computer saying "Well done, you have completed the task. Thank you."

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 Experiments setup and procedure cont.
• Evaluation of Performance ：

● While a participant interacted with VGDART platform, the system evaluated one’s performance in terms of

(a) Gaze related, (b) Task-related Performance Indices.

• (a) Gaze related Performance Indices ：

● Use the dispersion threshold algorithm to identify valid fixations based on duration and proximity to the centroid.

● FD (fixation duration) is calculated using the valid fixations.

● Minimum FD (FDMin) and maximum FD (FDMax) are identified across all participants and trials.

(1)

[3] M. Mari, U. Castiello, D. Marks, C. Marraffa, and M. Prior, “The reach– to–grasp movement in children with autism spectrum disorder,” Feb. 2003.
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Experiments setup and procedure cont.
• (b) Task-related Performance Indices ：
● Task-related performance was evaluated in terms of percentage of attempts being ‘Successful’ using and ‘Unsuccessful’ .

% Attemptsuccess (2)

% Attemptunsuccess (3)

● A person's task-related performance was evaluated based on the error of performance (Ep).
● For this purpose, they calculated the minimum possible Euclidean distance between the virtual darts thrown by the participants
and the center of any balloon.

(4) (5)

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 Experimental result
A. Comparative Group Analysis of Task-Related Performance Indices ：
1) Distribution of Successful and Unsuccessful Attempts Across Participant Groups

2) Comparative Group Analysis of Trajectory of Percentage of Participants Making Successful Attempts as Task Progressed

3) Comparative Group Analysis of Variation in Normalized Performance Error as Task Progressed

[22] B. McKay and G. Wulf, “A distal external focus enhances novice dart throwing performance,” Int. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 149–156, Jun. 11
Experimental result cont.
B. Comparative Group Analysis of Gaze-Related Performance Indices ：

1) For Successful Attempts

2) For Unsuccessful Attempts

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Experimental result cont.
C. Comparative Analysis of One’s Gaze Pattern During the Movement Planning Window Duration “Case Studies” ：

1) Comparative Analysis of Scan Path of a Participant With ASD and TD Individual Across Attempts

2) Comparative Analysis of the Last Fixation Location Across Attempts of a Participant With ASD and TD Individual

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Conclusion
• A virtual reality-based gaze sensitive remote aiming task environment was developed to investigate the effect of gaze behavior on aiming
performance.

• This study compared differences in gaze behavior between typically developing individuals and individuals with ASD, and whether these
differences were associated with changes in target performance.

• Results showed that gaze behaviors differed in terms of scanning path and final gaze on specific areas of interest, and the importance of
gaze targets for aiming performance was confirmed.

• The findings of the study will help therapists to provide valuable input for working with individuals with ASD, enabling them to
personalize and modify the intervention model.

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Thanks for listening.

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