Google granted eye tracking patent to measure ad responses

Advertisers are going to love this one. Google has just been granted a patent for “pay per gaze” advertising, which will involve a sensor that will determine when customers are looking at advertisements, both in the real world and online.

The Google Glass-like eye sensor will charge advertisers on the basis of whether the user looks at online or offline advertisements while wearing them. The patent was filed back in May 2011 and has been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

According to the patent filing , Google says that “pay-per-gaze” advertising – what it seems to be calling this technology – will not necessarily be limited to online advertisements, but will also be extended to conventional modes of ad, including billboards, magazines and newspapers. “Thus, the gaze tracking system described herein offers a mechanism to track and bill offline advertisements in the manner similar to popular online advertisement schemes,” it explains.

The image attached to the patent

This patent is pretty much regarding an eye tracking sensor and the technique it uses to track the gaze of the wearer of this device. Using this, Google will be able to track which advertisement is being looked at, how long has the wearer been looking at it and what his or her reaction to the advertisement is. The reaction will be gauged by the pupil dilation of the wearer.

Google will now have to set up an advertising model in order to make this technology work. Bombarding wearers with advertisements continually will not be something that Google would be planning. Now, word is that this sensor could be present on Google Glass, but the patent filed two years ago makes no mention of the device. The patent also mentions “latent pre-searching”, which will display search results over the users field of vision using a wearable computer like Glass.

Google will have to brace itself for some intense discussion over privacy woes if this technology comes to Google Glass in the near future. On its part, the company says that this will be an option a customer could opt out of if they wish to. The company may also remove personal identifying data while handing over analytics to advertisers. Of course, getting a patent does not necessarily mean that Google will be employing this technology right away or even in the near future. However, with the company going all guns blazing towards the launch of Google Glass to the general public, pay-per-gaze advertising could well be a reality soon.