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arxiv: 2604.19397 · v3 · submitted 2026-04-21 · 💻 cs.HC

VIVA Stimuli: A Web-Based Platform for Eye Tracking Stimuli

Suleyman Ozdel , Virmarie Maquiling , Kadir Burak Buldu , Yasmeen Abdrabou , Enkelejda Kasneci This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-10 02:01 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 💻 cs.HC
keywords eye-trackingreproducibilitystimulus presentationweb platformsynchronizationexperiment designArUco markersvisual editor
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The pith

VIVA Stimuli provides a web-based platform that standardizes eye-tracking stimulus presentation to improve research reproducibility.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper introduces VIVA Stimuli as a solution to the problem of inconsistent stimulus presentation in eye-tracking studies, which can lead to different results even for the same eye movements. It offers a unified web environment with various task types like fixation and smooth pursuit, supports multiple eye-tracking technologies without specific hardware, and uses synchronization techniques such as ArUco markers or WebSocket. A visual editor allows creating and sharing experiment protocols for exact replication across labs. This matters because it addresses a key barrier to validating findings in the field.

Core claim

We introduce VIVA Stimuli, a web-based platform for standardized eye-tracking stimulus presentation. It provides configurable task types, including fixation, smooth pursuit, cognitive load, blink, slippage, content display, and questionnaires within a unified environment. The platform supports any eye-tracking technology, including wearable and screen-based VOG trackers, LFI sensors, and EOG devices. ArUco markers enable synchronization for trackers with scene cameras, while a WebSocket architecture ensures temporal synchronization for those without. A visual experiment flow editor allows protocols to be exported and shared, enabling identical stimulus replication across laboratories.

What carries the argument

The visual experiment flow editor combined with ArUco marker and WebSocket synchronization methods, which allow hardware-independent, shareable stimulus protocols.

Load-bearing premise

Inconsistent stimulus presentation is a primary barrier to reproducibility, and this web platform with its synchronization will suffice for identical replications across labs without extra dependencies.

What would settle it

Running the same eye-tracking protocol on VIVA in two different labs with different trackers and comparing the resulting eye movement metrics for identity.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2604.19397 by Enkelejda Kasneci, Kadir Burak Buldu, Suleyman Ozdel, Virmarie Maquiling, Yasmeen Abdrabou.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: VIVA Stimuli overview. Left: system architecture and synchronization. Right: visual experiment flow editor with [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Temporal event sequence during a protocol. Each task begins with one start marker and ends with one end marker, [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p003_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: Experimental setup components [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_3.png] view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Representative event log entries for a horizontal [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_4.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Reproducibility in eye-tracking research is increasingly important as researchers conduct diverse experiments and seek to validate or replicate findings. However, exact replication remains challenging due to differences in laboratory practices and experimental setups. Inconsistent stimulus presentation can yield divergent metrics from identical oculomotor behavior, yet the stimulus layer remains largely unstandardized. Existing tools often require programming expertise or depend on specific hardware vendors. We introduce VIVA Stimuli, a web-based platform for standardized eye-tracking stimulus presentation. It provides configurable task types, including fixation, smooth pursuit, cognitive load, blink, slippage, content display, and questionnaires within a unified environment. The platform supports any eye-tracking technology, including wearable and screen-based VOG trackers, LFI sensors, and EOG devices. ArUco markers enable synchronization for trackers with scene cameras, while a WebSocket architecture ensures temporal synchronization for those without. A visual experiment flow editor allows protocols to be exported and shared, enabling identical stimulus replication across laboratories.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 2 minor

Summary. The manuscript introduces VIVA Stimuli, a web-based platform for standardized eye-tracking stimulus presentation. It supports configurable task types (fixation, smooth pursuit, cognitive load, blink, slippage, content display, questionnaires), claims compatibility with any eye-tracking technology (wearable/screen-based VOG, LFI, EOG) via ArUco markers for scene-camera trackers or WebSocket for others, and provides a visual experiment flow editor for exporting/sharing protocols to enable identical replication across laboratories.

Significance. If the synchronization and compatibility claims hold under empirical testing, the platform could meaningfully improve reproducibility in eye-tracking research by reducing stimulus-presentation variability and lowering technical barriers for non-programmers, facilitating cross-lab protocol sharing without hardware/vendor lock-in.

major comments (2)
  1. [Abstract / Synchronization Mechanism] Abstract and synchronization description: the central claim that ArUco markers and WebSocket 'ensure temporal synchronization' and enable 'identical stimulus replication' is load-bearing for the contribution, yet the manuscript reports no measured end-to-end latency, frame-to-frame jitter, cross-browser consistency, or ArUco detection latency. Eye-tracking metrics (fixation duration, pursuit gain) are sensitive to millisecond offsets, so quantitative benchmarks are required to substantiate the reproducibility benefit.
  2. [Overall manuscript] Platform evaluation: the manuscript is a system description with no user studies, performance data, or validation experiments (e.g., timing accuracy across devices, usability with non-expert researchers, or comparison to existing tools). This leaves the practical utility and broad-compatibility assertions untested.
minor comments (2)
  1. [Visual Experiment Flow Editor] Clarify the exact protocol export format and how the visual flow editor encodes timing parameters to ensure bit-for-bit identical replication.
  2. [Discussion] Add a brief discussion of potential limitations, such as network variability in WebSocket mode or lighting conditions for ArUco detection.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their thoughtful review and constructive suggestions. We address each major comment below and outline the revisions we will make to strengthen the manuscript.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: [Abstract / Synchronization Mechanism] Abstract and synchronization description: the central claim that ArUco markers and WebSocket 'ensure temporal synchronization' and enable 'identical stimulus replication' is load-bearing for the contribution, yet the manuscript reports no measured end-to-end latency, frame-to-frame jitter, cross-browser consistency, or ArUco detection latency. Eye-tracking metrics (fixation duration, pursuit gain) are sensitive to millisecond offsets, so quantitative benchmarks are required to substantiate the reproducibility benefit.

    Authors: We acknowledge that the manuscript does not include empirical measurements of synchronization performance, which is a valid concern given the sensitivity of eye-tracking metrics to timing precision. The described mechanisms—ArUco markers for visual synchronization with scene cameras and WebSocket for direct communication—are designed to minimize latency and ensure consistency across setups. To address this, in the revised manuscript we will add quantitative benchmarks, including end-to-end latency measurements, frame-to-frame jitter analysis across different browsers and devices, and ArUco marker detection latency under controlled conditions. These additions will provide the necessary evidence to support the reproducibility claims. revision: yes

  2. Referee: [Overall manuscript] Platform evaluation: the manuscript is a system description with no user studies, performance data, or validation experiments (e.g., timing accuracy across devices, usability with non-expert researchers, or comparison to existing tools). This leaves the practical utility and broad-compatibility assertions untested.

    Authors: As a system description paper, the primary focus was on presenting the platform's architecture, features, and potential for standardization. We agree that additional evaluation would enhance the demonstration of its utility and compatibility. In the revision, we will incorporate performance data on timing accuracy across devices, a comparison with existing tools in a table, and preliminary usability insights based on our development and testing process. Full user studies with non-expert researchers may be beyond the scope of this initial work but will be noted as important future directions. revision: partial

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: direct system description with no derivations or self-referential predictions

full rationale

The manuscript is a descriptive introduction to the VIVA Stimuli web platform. It lists configurable task types, synchronization methods (ArUco markers and WebSocket), and a visual flow editor, but presents these as implemented features rather than derived results. No equations, fitted parameters, predictions, or first-principles derivations appear anywhere in the text. Claims about enabling identical replication are stated as design goals supported by the described architecture, not as outputs that reduce to the inputs by construction. No self-citation chains or uniqueness theorems are invoked to justify core choices. The paper is therefore self-contained as a tool paper and exhibits zero circularity under the defined criteria.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 0 axioms · 0 invented entities

This is a software platform description paper with no mathematical derivations, fitted constants, or theoretical constructs. No free parameters, axioms, or invented entities are present.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5490 in / 1137 out tokens · 47432 ms · 2026-05-10T02:01:24.875782+00:00 · methodology

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