Tobii Pro Lab
Introduction
Tobii Pro Lab is software used for eye tracking experiments with Tobii eye trackers. The software can be used for all stages in the experiment cycle (stimulus presentation, data recording, and gaze data analysis).
Availability, support and advice
Tobi Pro Lab is available for researchers at FSW Leiden and comes preinstalled on all lab computers (see the Software List to check which version). For managed work computers, it can be requested for at the ISSC through the helpdesk. A license for Tobii Pro Lab can be borrowed from SOLO through the Helpdesk. Full, Analyzer, and Recorder licenses are available (see License types below).
SOLO provides support for Tobii Pro Lab. Whether or not to use Tobii Pro Lab for stimulus presentation and/or gaze data analysis depends heavily on the user's programming experience, task complexity and type of data to be analyzed (gaze/pupil). In general, although Tobii Pro Lab has an easy to use interface and can be used by researchers with no programming experience, its stimulus presentation capabilities are low and inflexible compared to other packages such as E-Prime or OpenSesame. Tobii Pro Lab provides good tools for gaze analysis (which would require extensive programming without Tobii Pro Lab), but for pupil analysis an option like the PhysioData Toolbox might be more suitable. For an overview of software that can be used with Tobii eye trackers, see the Tobii software guide.
License types
To activate a license, network connection is required. When using a pc without network connection, it is necessary to enable network connection for activating the license and. Once activated, a perpetual license will keep working offline until deactivated. A subscription license will present an error after about a week.
SOLO owns multiple perpetual licenses of the following types (for overview of functionality see tables below):
- Full: The Full edition contains all Pro Lab modules and can be used with all Tobii Pro Eye Trackers. All project types can be created.
- Analyzer: The Analyzer edition is focused on glasses projects and data analysis. It therefore only contains the analyzer module. Only glasses project types can be created. However, Screen-based, Scene Camera and External Presenter projects can be opened and analyzed (but need to be created with the Full or Screen-based (One) edition).
- Screen-based One: The Screen-based One license can only be used with Tobii Pro Lab version >= 1.217. The Screen-based One edition contains all three modules (Design, Record, Analyze). Only Screen-based eye trackers can be used. All project types, including the Advanced Screen, but excluding the Glasses type can be created and analyzed.
- Screen-based: The Screen-based edition contains all three modules (Design, Record, Analyze). Only Screen-based eye trackers can be used and only Screen-based and Scene Camera projects can be created. Advanced Screen projects cannot be created (a Screen-based One edition is required).
- Presenter: The Presenter edition is deprecated and is replaced by the Screen-based edition. With the Presenter edition, projects could be created and recorded, but not analyzed.
Full license
| License | Project types | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screen | Advanced Screen |
Glasses |
Scene Camera |
External Presenter (e.g. E-Prime) | |
| Design | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Record | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Analyze | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Screen-based One license (only works with Tobii Pro Lab version >= 1.217!)
| License | Project types | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screen | Advanced Screen |
Glasses |
Scene Camera |
External Presenter (e.g. E-Prime) | |
| Design | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Record | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Analyze | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Screen-based license
| License | Project types | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screen | Advanced Screen |
Glasses |
Scene Camera |
External Presenter (e.g. E-Prime) | |
| Design | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Record | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Analyze | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Analyzer license
| License | Project types | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screen | Advanced Screen |
Glasses |
Scene Camera |
External Presenter (e.g. E-Prime) | |
| Design | |||||
| Record | |||||
| Analyze | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Tips & Tricks
- Converting Tobii Studio projects to Tobii Pro Lab
It is not possible to convert Tobii Studio projects to Tobii Pro Lab projects. Projects need to be created in Tobii Pro Lab from scratch.
- Eye tracker set-up
When connecting a screen based eye tracker to a computer for the first time, it needs to be set-up in the Eye Tracker Manager application.
- Tobii Pro project location
Make sure that the project is located locally (on the C: drive). The default location can be changed by clicking Browse in the Create new Project tab. Do not save the project (also not in exported form) in a folder that is synced with cloud storage such as OneDrive! This will potentially break the project.
- TTL pulses to mark stimulus onset
When enabled, Tobii Pro Lab sends a TTL marker (8 bit) at the onset of every stimulus on the Timeline. Markers can be sent to the parallel port or UsbParMarker. When a UsbParMarker is used, choose Brain Products Triggerbox as TTL device in the Record tab and make sure to check which COM port the UsbParMarker is connected to. The marker signal is active for 34 ms. Marker values can be specified manually per stimulus or can be automatically chosen by Tobii Pro Lab (increasing number per stimulus starting from 1). Tobii Pro Lab sends the TTL markers when it estimates that the stimulus has appeared on the screen. This estimation uses a zero lag display and a 10 ms screen latency (the screen latency can be adjusted in the lower left corner of the Record tab, see also the Screen latency point below). It is also possible to receive TTL pulses (TTL-in markers) for synchronization purposes, but only for the Pro Spectrum and Tobii Pro TX300 eye trackers.
- Using two screens
Tobii Pro Lab does not support presentation screens that have the Windows screen duplication setting enabled. Tobii Pro Lab does support two screens in extended mode. On one screen, the task is presented to the participant. On the other screen, it is possible to enable a Moderater view on which the experimenter can view the track status, the stimuli displayed, and a gaze data live view. Note that the live view feature is performance demanding and may cause timing issues with stimulus display in computers with lower specifications.
- Screen latency
Tobii Pro Lab timestamps the moment when the application assumes that a stimulus was displayed. This assumption is based on the screen latency. This is the delay between sending a stimulus to the screen and the screen displaying it. The screen latency needs to be entered manually in the Record tab (default is 10 ms). The screen latency can be found in the screen’s technical specifications.
- Import glasses project
Import a glasses project (*.ttgp) directly from the SD card. Do not move the project from the SD card to a different location, and then import it.
FAQ
| Topic | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| I cannot import my glasses project | Make sure to import the project (*.ttgp file) directly from the SD card. Use an SD card reader to read an SD card on your computer. | |
| I cannot open my project anymore. Tobii Pro Lab tries to open it, but then shuts down without giving an error/warning message. | It is possible that the project is corrupt. Tobii support can usually help with this. Ask labsupport at labsupport@fsw.leidenuniv.nl to contact Tobii. | |
| I cannot create a project. Tobii Pro Lab either creates an "empty" project (all tabs are just completely empty) or shuts down without giving an error/warning message. | From version 1.181 issues with creating a project have been observed. This is due to Tobii Pro Lab trying to bind to port 8080, but can't, because another application is already using this port. In case of FSW lab computers, it seems that NIApplicationWebServer is using port 8080. This is a National Instruments application, part of the National Instruments runtime, used by and installed with BioSemi Actiview. A workaround is using an older version of Tobii Pro Lab, or disabling the application using port 8080. On labcomputers in FSW Leiden, this application has been disabled, and no issues should arise. When this issue does occur on a labcomputer at the FSW, contact labsupport@fsw.leidenuniv.nl. | |
| Tobii Pro Lab crashes | Make sure to store your project on the local C-drive. Do not work from a network drive (such as the University J-drive or P-drive). When your project keeps crashing, contact labsupport@fsw.leidenuniv.nl. | |
| Videos are not shown smoothly. A black screen precedes the videos and the videos stammer at the start. | The black screen before the video seems to be an issue in older version of Tobii Pro Lab. In the newer version (from 1.194) this does not occur anymore. Make sure to use the preferred system requirements. Even when the system requirements are met, issues with playing videos smoothly in Tobii Pro Lab can occur. Pro Lab's performance is just not optimal when working with videos. For optimal performance and precise timing, it is advised to use Tobii Pro Lab with E-Prime, so that E-Prime can handle stimulus presentation and the (gaze) data can be analyzed in Tobii Pro Lab. | |
| Tobii Pro Lab External Presenter with E-Prime does not work. | Because of a bug in Tobii Pro Lab version 1.194, Tobii Pro Lab 1.194 cannot be used with E-Prime. Use a different version. | |
| Missing gaze origin. After the calibration, the accuracy and precision results are not calibrated for some or all of the calibration points. In the visual overview of the calibration, the calibration seems fine, but when you hover over a point it says “missing gaze origin, cannot calculate”. | This is due to a bug in Tobii Pro Lab in calculating the accuracy and precision results. The calibration itself is not affected, only the accuracy and precision results cannot be calibrated. The fix of this issue will be included in an upcoming update of Tobii Pro Lab (> 1.217). | |
| Unable to load recording. In Tobii Pro Lab loading a recording cannot be viewed. When clicking on a recording in the Project overview, the message "Unable to load recording" appears. The recording was done normally. At the end of the recording the recording was saved as usual. | This could be caused by one or more video's in the task. Even when they are .avi or .mp4, it could be caused by a certain codec. Try transcoding the video. |
Resources
- (latest version can also be downloaded from the Tobii website)
- Tobii Website. A lot of information can be found on the Tobii website.
- Introduction to Tobii Pro Lab Webinar. This webinar provides a short overview of Tobii Pro Lab and the different stages of an eye tracking project (creating, recording and analyzing).