Multimodal Smart Eyewear for Longitudinal Eye Movement Tracking

Contextual measurements of multiple physiological signals using familiar garments or accessories can provide insights into health and behavior. Recording these signals on or near the face is challenging because most subjects are sensitive to implements placed on the face or head. Here, fabric electrodes and garment design strategies are used synergistically to afford an unobtrusive platform, Chesma, for longitudinal acquisition of physiological signals from a user's face. Chesma contains two novel fabric-based electrodes: a hydrogel electrode (tAgTrode) that retains its ionic character after multiple uses/washes, does not cause skin irritation, and can be continuously operated for upward of 8 h without losing signal integrity. Second is an ion-conductive fabric pressure sensor (Press-ION) that captures pulse waveforms. When sewn onto a lightweight eye mask, these electrodes simultaneously gather complementary electro-oculography and cardiac data, which can enable sleep quality and psychological studies and improve the accuracy and usability of virtual reality headsets.