Eye tracking for affective computing in virtual reality healthcare applications

This paper examines opportunities and challenges associated with using eye tracking as a sensory system for affective computing in extended reality (XR) environments. Affective computing is a rapidly growing field that aims to develop computing systems capable of recognizing, interpreting, and responding to human emotions. Eye tracking has several potential benefits for improving the detection of emotions, including its ability to unobtrusively monitor affective states in real time, and its sensitivity to a variety of affective states. This paper introduces affective computing, explains eye tracking methodologies, and describes how eye tracking can be used to detect attentional and affective states, realizing concepts such as virtual exposure therapy, and adaptive virtual reality. The paper discusses several potential applications of eye tracking for affective computing in healthcare settings.