Eye-Tracking in AR/VR: A Technological Review and Future Directions

With the rapid development of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications, eye-tracking as a natural yet intuitive human-machine interface technology has become increasingly important and necessary. This review provides a comprehensive overview of approaches, technological advancements, application scenarios, and challenges of various eye-tracking technologies particularly for AR/VRs. After briefly discussing the fundamental principles of eye-tracking technology and its implementation in AR/VR devices, we have reviewed the major technological breakthroughs and innovations in this field in the recent years. We also make specific cases of eye-tracking technology in various AR/VR applications, such as user interface optimization, gaze interaction, immersive experience enhancement, and health monitoring. Lastly, technical challenges such as insufficient accuracy, high computational resource consumption, and privacy concerns together with future development directions of eye-tracking technology, have been addressed. © 2024 IEEE.