Look the Robot in The Eye.(Brief Article)(Cover Story)

Byline: Melissa Roberts

Few things would be more offensive than a computer that nags when you're not paying attention. Alex Zelinski is aware that his technology--which gives computers the ability to read a person's gaze--"could be incredibly annoying," he says. It could also herald a radical new way of interacting with machines. After all, if your PC could tell what you were looking at, there'd be no need for a mouse.

Already the technology, called Facelab, provides a way to monitor how well people are paying attention to dangerous tasks like driving or running a nuclear power plant. Facelab is a stereoscopic video camera and a laptop loaded with software that translates the image of your face into a 3-D computer model. Then it zeroes in on the eyes, tracking the movement of the iris and pupil, and determines precisely what you're looking at. Unlike previous eye-tracking gadgets, Facelab requires no goggles and can work even in poor lighting. By watching for drooping eyelids, the ...