L2M – SocialEyes: multi-person eye-tracking in real-world, social contexts

Eye-tracking reveals otherwise invisible aspects of human attention, emotion, and social interaction, but current systems are limited by expensive hardware and complex analysis workflows that restrict use to small, controlled groups. SocialEyes is a peer-reviewed research technology that enables synchronized eye-tracking across large co-located groups by aligning multiple data streams in time and space. The system has already been validated in a study with 30 participants and adopted by several research labs in Canada and the United States, with applications spanning classrooms, concerts, museums, film screenings, and other real-world social environments.

This project aims at transitioning SocialEyes from an academic prototype to a scalable commercial solution. It targets at improvements in usability, deployment workflows, robustness across environments, and documentation, as well as clearer validation of customer needs, value propositions, and pricing. The Lab2Market Validate program will support this transition by providing a structured framework for customer discovery, market validation, and commercialization planning. Through systematic engagement with potential users across research, creative, and technology sectors, the project will refine problem–solution fit, test delivery and licensing models, and identify pathways for sustainable deployment.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lauren Fink

Student:

Partner:

Innovation Factory

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

McMaster University

Program: