Run the interaction.
Pong runs directly on the Live Editor canvas. Check the moving ball and the responses before starting a participant session.
SIGMA Builder · Experiments built around attention
Build studies that respond to attention.
Design the participant screen in the Live Editor, switch display formats and test routines in place. Generate text AOIs, connect gaze to actions and exchange image or video regions with PeriTag.
macOS & Windows
Visual study authoring
Optional Python extensions
Local data
Live Editor · Design / Behavior / Test
Design the screen.
Switch the format. Test the routine.
Work directly on the participant canvas. Check how the same routine fits different display profiles, then try it inside the editor.
- Edit what participants will see. Move, resize and rotate visual components on the canvas. Magnetic alignment helps you match edges, centers and spacing.
- Switch the target display. Select a configured format and its pixel resolution directly in the Live Editor. Share a global layout across profiles and add a custom layout where a format needs it.
- Try the routine in place. Use Run in Editor to test the current condition row or the enclosing loop. Inspect the task before starting the full participant session.
Full HD · 1920 × 1080
Surface 3:2 · 2880 × 1920
Ultrawide · 3440 × 1440
Editor tests run without hardware or eye tracking; device workflows use the participant runtime.
Live Editor · Run in Editor
Pong in the Live Editor.
Preview an interactive task and keep its event logic in view before starting the participant session.
Keep the logic in view.
The Event Logic panel stays beside the running task, with motion, input, rules and event actions in the same workspace.
Why SIGMA Builder
More than a sequence of screens.
Build the experimental logic around what participants read, see and attend to. These capabilities stay connected to the scientific session record.
Reading tasks with meaningful AOIs
Author native text and generate word and line regions directly from its layout. The session retains the presented wording, region geometry and trial context for later analysis.
GAZE → EVENT → ACTION
Look
Gaze input
Target AOI
500 ms dwell
Action
Show stimulus
Illustrated example · gaze → dwell → stimulus
Gaze that changes the experiment
Respond when gaze enters, leaves or dwells in an area. Show or hide components, change a variable, write a marker or end a routine through visible settings.
Control what is visible
Use a gaze-following moving window or scotoma. Configure its shape, size and edge to study foveal access, peripheral information or attention-dependent viewing.
Adaptive trials without a Code component
Configure Staircase, QUEST or QUEST+ in the loop settings. Connect a response variable to the next stimulus level and retain the decision history with the trial.
STUDY → APPLICATION → STUDY
01 · Study
02 · Application
03 · Study
PARTICIPANT TASK
+
Begin the application task
Continue to the next routine
Compare the options
Pointer
REC
Frame 1
Frame 2
Frame 3
Frame 4
Frame 5
Frame 6
Frame 7
Frame 8
Frames + timing
Illustrated workflow · capture the task, then continue the study
Bring real desktop tasks into a study
Let participants use a browser or another application during a recording phase. Capture the desktop, keep optional gaze recording active and return to the experiment afterwards.
Image and video AOIs through PeriTag
Send image and video stimuli from Builder to PeriTag, annotate them and return the AOIs to their original components. Use static regions and time-varying tracks in the experiment.
For reading research
The words, their positions and the trial belong together.
A reading study needs more than a text screenshot and a stream of gaze coordinates. Builder connects the passage participants encounter with the word and line regions used to interpret it.
- Author the passage. Control the text, wrapping, font size and spacing in the study workspace. Bind different passages to conditions when the study calls for variants.
- Generate the regions. Enable word and line AOIs directly on the native text component. Preview them in the chosen display profile instead of drawing each word by hand.
- Keep the presented context. Record the resolved text and corresponding region geometry with the trial. Supported stimulus representations give Iriscope a matching visual basis for project review.
Moving Window & Scotoma
Let gaze control what is visible.
Reveal a window around gaze or hide it with a scotoma. Watch both effects in one real reading task.
01 / Moving Window
The area around gaze stays visible. The surrounding text is masked.
02 / Scotoma
The area around gaze is masked. The surrounding text stays visible. The second effect starts at 14 seconds.
Gaze-contingent experiments
Make attention part of the study logic.
Configure the relationship between a gaze event and an experimental action. Use it for fixation-gated tasks, attention-dependent stimulus changes and controlled visual-access paradigms.
GAZE → EVENT → ACTION
Look
Gaze input
Target AOI
500 ms dwell
Action
Show stimulus
Illustrated example · gaze → dwell → stimulus
01
Choose the region
Use a component area or a static or dynamic AOI from PeriTag as the gaze target.
02
Define the event
Choose entering, leaving, remaining inside or outside, or dwelling in the region. Set the dwell duration where needed.
03
Connect an action
Reveal a component, update a variable, mark an event or finish a routine. The trigger and action remain visible in the Builder.
Example: Reveal a target after a defined dwell on a fixation region, then collect the participant’s response. For a different paradigm, use a moving window to limit visible information around gaze.
Research applications
One workspace. Different experimental questions.
Builder combines stimulus presentation, participant responses and acquisition context so that the study structure remains visible as the task grows.
01
Adaptive threshold tasks
Let a recorded response determine the next trial level through Staircase, QUEST or QUEST+. Settings and response connections remain inspectable in the experiment.
02
Visual and peripheral tasks
Combine text, images, shapes, motion and gaze-dependent visibility. Keep component areas tied to the presented display context.
03
Desktop interaction studies
Insert a browsing or software-use phase, record the display with frame timing and optional gaze, then continue with the next study routine.
From design to session
Control the experiment. Keep the evidence.
A separate participant runtime and an explicit preparation flow help you move from the authoring workspace to a reviewable research session.
- Design and vary. Arrange routines and components in a timeline. Use CSV or Excel conditions, repetitions, randomisation and responses such as keyboard, mouse, sliders and buttons.
- Test the participant experience. Inspect individual routines and run the full experiment in a dedicated fullscreen runtime. Preflight checks flag missing resources and unsupported configurations before the session begins.
- Prepare the workstation. Confirm the participant display and viewing area. Supported Tobii workflows include guided device setup, positioning, calibration and validation.
- Record and review. Keep gaze, responses, trial boundaries and presentation context together. Use HDF5 and CSV output and open the session in Iriscope for analysis and visual review.
Eye-tracker availability depends on the model, operating system and required manufacturer software. Presentation and device timing should be checked on the workstation used for the study.
Builder ↔ PeriTag
The same images. The same videos. Meaningful AOIs.
Study authoring and annotation are connected in both directions. You can prepare image and video regions in PeriTag without losing the relationship to the components in your experiment.
THE AOIs RETURN WITH THEIR CONTEXT
01 · BUILDER
Send the stimuli
Images & videos
02 · PERITAG
Define the AOIs
Names & boundaries
03 · BUILDER
Bring regions back
Matched components
Illustrated exchange · Builder → PeriTag → Builder
- Send the study material. Export image and video stimuli from Builder as a PeriTag project, with the component mapping needed for their return.
- Annotate in PeriTag. Create image AOIs or dynamic video tracks, review their boundaries and add meaningful names and tags.
- Return AOIs to Builder. Import the annotation into the matching experiment components and use the regions as gaze targets.
- Continue into Iriscope. Keep the session, stimulus context and AOIs connected when the experiment is ready for analysis.
The connected SIGMA workflow
A study should arrive with its context.
Move from experimental control to AOI preparation and eye-tracking analysis while keeping the material and methods understandable.
01
Builder defines and runs
Author the experiment and record the participant experience, with its stimulus, display and session context.
02
PeriTag prepares the regions
Create, label and maintain static or dynamic AOIs for visual material and moving objects.
03
Iriscope connects the results
Inspect the imported session, apply analytical workflows and share prepared projects with the free Reader.
Start with your research question
Build the study you need to run.
Explore the Builder on your workstation or tell us about the task, eye-tracker and analytical workflow your study needs.
Choose macOS or Windows, check the current version and find earlier releases in the download overview. Software licenses and PeriTag access are available on request.