Patent Document ID: 4789235
Application ID: 07166776
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of generating a distribution of actual looking time of a group of individuals, each viewing a television program containing a video signal and a synchronized audio signal, both signals recorded on a real time basis to form said program, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a viewing room with a video monitor for display of said television program to a selected one of said individuals at a given general area of said room, a dimly visible near infrared light source shining toward said individual at said given general area in a given direction, thereby producing a reflection from the surface of the cornea of an eye of said individual, a video camera disposed so that its optical axis is coaxial with said direction of said light source and a tracking mirror servo-mechanism for directing said light source and camera towards and eye of said individual at said general area of said room with said individual not being connected to equipment in said room; (b) displaying said television program to said individual at said general area in said room by way of said video monitor; (c) computing the point of gaze of said eye of said individual at preselected time intervals by way of displacement of said corneal reflection from the pupil of said eye at each of said preselected time intervals while said individual is viewing said television program from said general area in said room; (d) recording said point of gaze at each of said intervals; (e) producing a series of successive fixation parameters specifying eye fixations including recorded starting time, duration and x, y coordinates for each successive fixation of the eye of said individual while viewing said television program; (f) recording said series of fixations in a given first data file; (g) previously or afterwards dividing said television program into a series of scenes having a start time and a duration and each made up of known areas of interest with a fixed set of x, y coordinates defining each boundary for each area of interest of each scene, said start times and durations being selected in accordance with the time said areas of interest are generally the same or said audio signal is presenting a given audio concept; (h) recording said scenes by starting time, duration and fixed coordinates of areas of interest in said scenes into a second data file; (i) comparing said first and second data files for said individual to produce a third data file containing specific fixations in each area of interest in each scene of said combined video and audio television program; (j) repeating said steps for a number of individuals; and, (k) producing a compilation chart specifying the distribution of looking time in all areas of interest in each scene for said number of individuals.