One of the problems with mobile media devices is that they may distract users during critical everyday tasks, such as navigating the streets of a busy city. We addressed this issue in the design of eyeLook: a platform for attention sensitive mobile computing that uses embedded low cost eyeCONTACT sensors (ECS) to detect when the user looks at the display. We discuss two eyeLook applications, seeTV and seeRead, that facilitate courteous media consumption in mobile contexts by using information from the ECS to respond to the userŐs attention. seeTV is an attentive mobile video player that automatically pauses content when the user is not looking. seeRead is an attentive speed reading application that flashes words on the display, advancing text only when the user is looking. By making mobile media devices sensitive to actual user attention, eyeLook allows applications to gracefully transition users between consuming media, and managing life.

Presented at UIST 2005, Seattle Washington. USA.