PeyeDF: an Eye-Tracking Application for Reading and Self-Indexing Research

PeyeDF is a Portable Document Format (PDF) reader with eye tracking support, available as free and open source software. It is especially useful to researchers investigating reading and learning phenomena, as it integrates PDF reading-related behavioural data with gaze-related data. It is suitable for short and long-term research and supports multiple eye tracking systems. We utilised it to conduct an experiment which demonstrated that features obtained from both gaze and reading data collected in the past can predict reading comprehension which takes place in the future. PeyeDF also provides an integrated means for data collection and indexing using the DiMe personal data storage system. It is designed to collect data in the background without interfering with the reading experience, behaving like a modern lightweight PDF reader. Moreover, it supports annotations, tagging and collaborative work. A modular design allows the application to be easily modified in order to support additional eye tracking protocols and run controlled experiments. We discuss the implementation of the software and report on the results of the experiment which we conducted with it.