QUANTIFYING POINT DATASETS (EYE TRACKS) USING ESRI ArcGIS SPATIAL ANALYST AND GEOSTATISTICAL ANALYST EXTENSIONS

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been widely used to display geographic data over both space and time. Analyses of these data are generally limited to qualitative considerations, although some specialty analytical functions have been deployed to analyze landform geometries, animal ranging patterns, and metrics related to epidemiology. The simple display of such geographic data provides visual insight into the relationship between variables, but a statistical analysis of spatial data would offer a more quantitative comparison. For example, point datasets are easily generated using Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in navigation studies, or through the use of eye tracking devices in visual perception studies. However, the analytical quantification of such data is lacking.

Generally, spatial analyses in ArcGIS are limited to those simple functions housed within the primary program. We will present the use of analytical tools found in ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and Geostatistical Analyst Extensions to quantify point datasets (eye tracks) and generate statistical comparisons in space and time. We will demonstrate that: 1) ArcGIS is an appropriate tool for analyzing eye tracks. Filtered datasets and classical displays generated in ArcGIS contend with output from the Tobii eye tracking system. 2) ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and Geostatistical Analyst Extensions provide a quantitative evaluation of eye tracking data that surpasses current state-of-the-art approaches.