Hand tracking with IR camera device of XR system

Abstract

An augmented reality (XR) system provides a method for capturing a hand gesture being made by a user in a weak light environment. The XR system captures tracked video frame data of hand gestures of a user of the XR system using one or more visible light cameras. The XR system generates hand tracking data based on the tracking video frame data. The hand tracking data includes a skeletal model and a hand tracking confidence level indicating a probability that the skeletal model matches a hand pose. The XR system compares the hand tracking confidence level to a threshold confidence value, and based on determining that the first hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, activates one or more broad spectrum camera devices to capture subsequent tracking video frame data of the hand gesture. The XR system may also activate an IR light emitter to illuminate a user's hand.

Description

[0001] Priority Claim

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 063,489, filed on Dec. 8, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to user interfaces, and more particularly, to user interfaces for augmented reality or virtual reality. Background Art

[0004] A head-mounted device may be implemented with a transparent or semi-transparent display through which a user of the head-mounted device can view the surrounding environment. Such a head-mounted device enables a user to view the surrounding environment through the transparent or semi-transparent display and also to see objects (e.g., virtual objects such as renderings of 2D or 3D graphical models, images, videos, text, etc.) generated for display as part of and / or superimposed on the surrounding environment. This is generally referred to as “augmented reality” or “AR”. The head-mounted device may also completely occlude the user's field of view and display a virtual environment through which the user may move or be moved. This is generally referred to as “virtual reality” or “VR”. In a hybrid form, a view of the surrounding environment is captured using a camera device and then displayed to the user together with augmentations on a display that occludes the user's eyes. As used herein, unless the context otherwise indicates, the term extended reality (XR) refers to augmented reality, virtual reality, and any hybrid of these technologies.

[0005] A user of a head-mounted device may access and use computer software applications to perform various tasks or engage in entertainment activities. To use a computer software application, the user interacts with a user interface provided by the head-mounted device. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] In the drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, like reference numerals may describe similar components in different views. To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or action, one or more of the most significant digits in the reference numeral refers to the figure number in which the element is first introduced. Some non-limiting examples are shown in the figures of the drawings, in which:

[0007] Figure 1A is a perspective view of a head-mounted device according to some examples.

[0008] Figure 1B shows another view of the Figure 1A head-mounted device according to some examples.

[0009] Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of a computer system, within which a set of instructions can be executed to cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein.

[0010] Figure 3A shows a collaboration diagram of components of an XR system having a hand-tracking camera device, according to some examples.

[0011] Figure 3B shows a process flow diagram of a method of operating a hand-tracking camera device, according to some examples.

[0012] Figure 3C shows hand-tracking data, according to some examples.

[0013] Figure 4 shows a system of a head-mounted device, according to some examples.

[0014] Figure 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a networked environment in which the present disclosure may be deployed, according to some examples.

[0015] Figure 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a data structure maintained in a database, according to some examples.

[0016] Figure 7 is a diagrammatic representation of a messaging system having both client-side functionality and server-side functionality, according to some examples.

[0017] Figure 8 is a block diagram showing a software architecture, according to some examples. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Hand tracking is a way to interact with an XR user interface. A hand-tracking system uses a camera device and computer vision algorithms to track the position of a user's hand. In some cases, the ambient lighting may be insufficient for an XR system providing an XR user interface to correctly identify the position of the user's hand. Additionally, a visible-spectrum light camera device may not have the dynamic range of the human eye, which may limit the usability of the visible-light camera device in low-light environments. Therefore, it is desirable to have a hand-tracking system that can operate in low-light environments.

[0019] In some examples, an IR camera device or a wide-spectrum camera device is used together with an infrared (IR) flare or an IR light emitter to provide a reliable visual signal for a hand tracking system even when ambient light is weak. Under medium lighting conditions where a visible light camera device may not provide reliable hand tracking, the ambient light may be sufficient for the wide-spectrum camera device to operate properly. In some such examples, the light emitter can be deactivated.

[0020] In some examples, one or more camera devices capable of capturing images in the IR spectrum are integrated into the hardware design of a head-mounted device of an XR system together with an IR flare or a transmitter module, which can be activated when needed. In some examples, to limit the amount of space required to mount the camera devices, a wide-spectrum camera device capable of switching between IR light and human visible light can be used instead of adding a set of additional camera devices. Generally, compared with some visible light camera devices, the image capture performance of wide-spectrum camera devices is poor, so they will be dedicated to hand tracking purposes and supplement the visible light camera devices already existing in the device. In some examples, to accommodate a limited battery budget, when the hand tracking algorithm reports insufficient tracking quality, the IR camera device and the IR emitter can be activated based on an adaptive system.

[0021] In some examples, an XR system uses a visible light camera device to capture tracking video frame data of a user's hand pose of the XR system. The XR system generates hand tracking data based on the tracking video frame data. The hand tracking data includes a bone model and a hand tracking confidence level, and the hand tracking confidence level indicates the probability that the bone model matches the user's hand pose. The XR system compares the hand tracking confidence level with a threshold confidence value, and based on determining that the hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, activates the wide-spectrum camera device of the XR system to capture subsequent tracking video frame data of the user's hand pose.

[0022] In some examples, when the wide-spectrum camera device is activated, the XR system deactivates the visible light camera device.

[0023] In some examples, when the XR system activates the wide-spectrum camera device, the XR system can also activate the light emitter. In some examples, the light emitter is an IR light emitter. In some examples, the light emitter is a visible light emitter.

[0024] Based on the following figures, description, and claims, other technical features will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

[0025] Figure 1A is a perspective view of a head-mounted device 100 according to some examples. The head-mounted device 100 can be an XR system such asFigure 5 The client device of the computing system 502. The head-mounted device 100 may include a frame 102 made of any suitable material such as plastic or a metal including any suitable shape memory alloy. In one or more examples, the frame 102 includes a first optical element holder or left optical element holder 104 (e.g., a display or lens holder) and a second optical element holder or right optical element holder 106 connected by a bridge 112. A first optical element or left optical element 108 and a second optical element or right optical element 110 may be disposed within the left optical element holder 104 and the right optical element holder 106, respectively. The right optical element 110 and the left optical element 108 may be lenses, displays, display components, or a combination of the foregoing. Any suitable display component may be provided in the head-mounted device 100.

[0026] The frame 102 additionally includes a left arm piece or left temple piece 122 and a right arm piece or right temple piece 124. In some examples, the frame 102 may be formed from a single piece of material to have a unified or integral construction.

[0027] The head-mounted device 100 may include a computing device, such as a computer 120, which may be of any suitable type to be carried by the frame 102, and in one or more examples, may be of a suitable size and shape to be partially disposed within one of the left temple piece 122 or the right temple piece 124. The computer 120 may include one or more processors having a memory, wireless communication circuitry, and a power source. As discussed below, the computer 120 includes low-power circuitry 426, high-speed circuitry 428, and a display processor. Various other examples may include these elements in different configurations or integrated in different ways. Additional details of aspects of the computer 120 may be implemented as shown for the machine 200 discussed herein.

[0028] The computer 120 additionally includes a battery 118 or other suitable portable power supply. In some examples, the battery 118 is disposed within the left temple piece 122 and is electrically coupled to the computer 120 disposed within the right temple piece 124. The head-mounted device 100 may include a connector or port (not shown) suitable for charging the battery 118, a wireless receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (not shown), or a combination of such devices.

[0029] The head-mounted device 100 includes a first camera device or left camera device 114 and a second camera device or right camera device 116. Although two camera devices are depicted, other examples contemplate the use of a single or additional (i.e., more than two) camera devices.

[0030] In some examples, in addition to the left camera device 114 and the right camera device 116, the head-wearable device 100 may further include any number of input sensors or other input / output devices. Such sensors or input / output devices may additionally include biometric sensors, positioning sensors, motion sensors, and the like.

[0031] In some examples, one type of the left camera device 114 and the right camera device 116 are the left camera device 114 and the right camera device 116 of visible light camera devices, and the left camera device 114 and the right camera device 116 provide tracking video frame data for the head-wearable device 100 to extract 3D information from a real-world scene illuminated by visible light.

[0032] In some examples, the head-wearable device 100 may further include one or more hand-tracking camera devices, such as a right hand-tracking camera device 158 and a left hand-tracking camera device 156. In some examples, one type of the one or more hand-tracking camera devices is a type of IR camera device sensitive to IR light. In some examples, one type of the one or more hand-tracking camera devices is a type of wide-spectrum camera device sensitive to a wide spectrum of light wavelengths. In some examples, the one or more hand-tracking camera devices are wide-spectrum camera devices and are sensitive to IR light and visible light. In some examples, the one or more hand-tracking camera devices are wide-spectrum camera devices and are sensitive to IR light, visible light, and ultraviolet (UV) light.

[0033] The head-wearable device 100 may further include a light emitter 154. When the visible light camera device is not working, the light emitter 154 may be operable to provide illumination for the operation of the one or more hand-tracking camera devices under low-light conditions. In some examples, the light emitter 154 is an IR light emitter.

[0034] In some examples, the light emitter 154 is a visible light emitter and provides illumination for the one or more visible light camera devices so that the one or more visible light camera devices can work under low-light conditions.

[0035] The head wearable device 100 may also include a touchpad 126 that is mounted to or integrated with one or both of the left temple piece 122 and the right temple piece 124. The touchpad 126 is typically arranged vertically and, in some examples, is approximately parallel to the user's temple. As used herein, being typically vertically aligned means that the touchpad is more vertical than horizontal, although it may be more vertical than that. Additional user input may be provided by one or more buttons 128, which in the illustrated example are disposed on the outer upper edges of the left optical element holder 104 and the right optical element holder 106. The one or more touchpads 126 and buttons 128 provide means by which the head wearable device 100 can receive input from a user of the head wearable device 100.

[0036] Figure 1B The head wearable device 100 is shown from the perspective of a user wearing the head wearable device 100. For clarity, many of the elements shown in Figure 1A are omitted. As Figure 1A described, Figure 1B the head wearable device 100 shown includes a left optical element 140 and a right optical element 144 that are respectively fixed within a left optical element holder 132 and a right optical element holder 136.

[0037] The head wearable device 100 includes: a right front optical assembly 130 that includes a left near-eye display 150 and a right near-eye display 134; and a left front optical assembly 142 that includes a left projector 146 and a right projector 152.

[0038] In some examples, the near-eye display is a waveguide. The waveguide includes a reflective structure or a diffractive structure (e.g., a grating and / or an optical element such as a mirror, a lens, or a prism). The light 138 emitted by the right projector 152 encounters the diffractive structure of the waveguide of the right near-eye display 134, which guides the light towards the user's right eye to provide an image on or in the right optical element 144, the image being superimposed on the view of the real-world scene seen by the user. Similarly, the light 148 emitted by the left projector 146 encounters the diffractive structure of the waveguide of the left near-eye display 150, which guides the light towards the user's left eye to provide an image on or in the left optical element 140, the image being superimposed on the view of the real-world scene seen by the user. The combination of the graphics processing unit, the image display driver, the right front optical assembly 130, the left front optical assembly 142, the left optical element 140, and the right optical element 144 provides the optical engine of the head-mounted device 100. The head-mounted device 100 uses the optical engine to generate a superimposition of the view of the user's real-world scene, including displaying a user interface to the user of the head-mounted device 100.

[0039] However, it should be understood that other display technologies or configurations can be utilized within the optical engine to display images to the user within the user's field of view. For example, instead of projectors and waveguides, an LCD, an LED, or other display panel or surface can be provided.

[0040] In use, the user of the head-mounted device 100 will see information, content, and various user interfaces on the near-eye display. As described in more detail herein, the user can then use the touchpad 126 and / or the buttons 128, touch input or voice input on an associated device (e.g., Figure 4 the mobile device 414 shown), and / or hand movements, positioning, and locations recognized by the head-mounted device 100 to interact with the head-mounted device 100.

[0041] In some examples, the optical engine of the XR system is incorporated into a lens that contacts the user's eye, such as a contact lens. The XR system uses the contact lens to generate an image of the XR experience.

[0042] In some examples, the head-mounted device 100 includes an XR system. In some examples, the head-mounted device 100 is a component of an XR system that includes additional computing components. In some examples, the head-mounted device 100 is a component within an XR system that includes an additional user input system or device.

[0043] Machine architecture

[0044] Figure 2is an illustrative representation of a machine 200 within which instructions 202 (e.g., software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code) can be executed to cause the machine 200 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. For example, the instructions 202 can cause the machine 200 to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. The instructions 202 transform a general, unprogrammed machine 200 into a particular machine 200 programmed to perform the described and illustrated functions in the described manner. The machine 200 can operate as a stand-alone device or can be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 200 can operate in the capacity of a server machine or a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine 200 can include, but is not limited to, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smart devices, a web device, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of sequentially or otherwise executing the instructions 202 specifying actions to be taken by the machine 200. Further, while a single machine 200 is shown, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include a collection of machines that individually or jointly execute the instructions 202 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. For example, the machine 200 can include a computing system 502 or any one of the server devices forming part of an interactive server system 510. In some examples, the machine 200 can also include both a client system and a server system, where certain operations of a particular method or algorithm are executed on the server side and where certain operations of a particular method or algorithm are executed on the client side.

[0045] The machine 200 can include a processor 204, a memory 206, and input / output (I / O) components 208 that can be configured to communicate with each other via a bus 210. In an example, the processor 204 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) can include, for example, a processor 212 and a processor 214 that execute the instructions 202. The term "processor" is intended to include multi-core processors that can include two or more independent processors (sometimes referred to as "cores") that can execute instructions simultaneously. WhileFigure 2 A number of processors 204 are shown, but machine 200 may include a single processor with a single core, a single processor with multiple cores (e.g., a multi-core processor), multiple processors with a single core, multiple processors with multiple cores, or any combination thereof.

[0046] Memory 206 includes main memory 216, static memory 240, and storage unit 218, all of which are accessible by processor 204 via bus 210. Main memory 206, static memory 240, and storage unit 218 store instructions 202 embodying any one or more of the methods or functions described herein. The instructions 202 may also reside, completely or partially, within main memory 216, within static memory 240, within machine-readable medium 220 within storage unit 218, within at least one of the processors within processor 204 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), or within any suitable combination thereof during execution by machine 200.

[0047] I / O components 208 may include various components for receiving input, providing output, generating output, sending information, exchanging information, capturing measurements, etc. The specific I / O components 208 included in a particular machine will depend on the type of the machine. For example, a portable machine such as a mobile phone may include a touch input device or other such input mechanism, while a headless server machine will likely not include such a touch input device. It should be understood that I / O components 208 may include Figure 2 many other components not shown. In various examples, I / O components 208 may include user output components 222 and user input components 224. User output components 222 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as a plasma display panel (PDP), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), acoustic components (e.g., speakers), tactile components (e.g., a vibration motor, a resistance mechanism), other signal generators, etc. User input components 224 may include alphanumeric input components (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, an optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric input components), point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instruments), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen that provides the location and force of a touch or touch gesture, or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., a microphone), etc.

[0048] In additional examples, the I / O component 208 can include a biometric component 226, a motion component 228, an environmental component 230, or a location component 232, as well as a variety of other components. For example, the biometric component 226 includes components for detecting expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, voice expressions, body postures, or eye tracking), measuring biometric signals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, sweating, or brain waves), identifying people (e.g., voice recognition, retina recognition, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, or electroencephalogram-based recognition), etc. The motion component 228 includes: an acceleration sensor component (e.g., an accelerometer), a gravity sensor component, a rotation sensor component (e.g., a gyroscope).

[0049] The environmental component 230 includes, for example, one or more camera devices (with still image / photo and video capabilities), a lighting sensor component (e.g., a photometer), a temperature sensor component (e.g., one or more thermometers for detecting ambient temperature), a humidity sensor component, a pressure sensor component (e.g., a barometer), an acoustic sensor component (e.g., one or more microphones for detecting background noise), a proximity sensor component (e.g., an infrared sensor for detecting nearby objects), a gas sensor (e.g., a gas detection sensor for detecting the concentration of hazardous gases for safety or for measuring pollutants in the atmosphere), a depth or distance sensor (e.g., a sensor for determining the distance to an object or for determining the depth of an object feature in a 3D coordinate system), or other components that can provide an indication, measurement, or signal corresponding to the surrounding physical environment.

[0050] Regarding the camera device, the computing system 502 can have a camera device system that includes, for example, a front camera on the front surface of the computing system 502 and a rear camera on the rear surface of the computing system 502. The front camera can be used, for example, to capture still images and videos of the user of the computing system 502 (e.g., "selfies"), which can then be enhanced with the enhanced data (e.g., filters) described above. The rear camera can be used, for example, to capture still images and videos in a more conventional camera device mode, where these images are similarly enhanced with the enhanced data. In addition to the front camera and the rear camera, the computing system 502 can also include a 360° camera device for capturing 360° photos and videos.

[0051] Furthermore, the camera device system of the computing system 502 can include a dual rear camera (e.g., a main camera and a depth sensing camera), or even a triple, quadruple, or quintuple rear camera configuration on the front and rear sides of the computing system 502. For example, these multiple camera device systems can include a wide-angle camera, an ultra-wide-angle camera, a telephoto camera, a macro camera, and a depth sensor.

[0052] The location component 232 includes a positioning sensor component (e.g., a GPS receiver component), an altitude sensor component (e.g., an altimeter or barometer that detects air pressure, from which altitude can be obtained), an orientation sensor component (e.g., a magnetometer), etc.

[0053] A variety of techniques can be used to implement communication. The I / O component 208 also includes a communication component 234 that is operable to couple the machine 200 to the network 236 or the device 238 via corresponding couplings or connections. For example, the communication component 234 can include a network interface component that interfaces with the network 236 or other suitable devices. In another example, the communication component 234 can include a wired communication component, a wireless communication component, a cellular communication component, a near field communication (NFC) component, components (e.g., low power consumption), components, and other communication components for providing communication via other modalities. The device 238 can be another machine or any of a variety of peripheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via USB).

[0054] In addition, the communication component 234 can detect an identifier or include a component operable to detect an identifier. For example, the communication component 234 can include a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader component, an NFC smart tag detection component, an optical reader component (e.g., an optical sensor for detecting one-dimensional barcodes such as universal product code (UPC) barcodes, multi-dimensional barcodes such as quick response (QR) codes, Aztec codes, data matrix, data glyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, UltraCode, UCC RSS-2D barcodes, and other optical codes), or an acoustic detection component (e.g., a microphone for identifying an audio signal of a tag). In addition, various information can be derived via the communication component 234, such as a location obtained via Internet protocol (IP) geolocation, a location obtained via signal triangulation, a location obtained via detecting an NFC beacon signal that can indicate a specific location, etc.

[0055] Various memories (e.g., main memory 216, static memory 240, and the memory of the processor 204) and the storage unit 218 can store one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g., software) embodied or used by any one or more of the methods or functions described herein. These instructions (e.g., instructions 202), when executed by the processor 204, cause the various operations to implement the disclosed examples.

[0056] Instructions 202 can be sent or received via a network interface device (e.g., the network interface component included in communication component 234) over a network 236 using a transmission medium and any one of several well-known transmission protocols (e.g., Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)). Similarly, instructions 202 can be sent or received using a transmission medium via a coupling to device 238 (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling).

[0057] Figure 3A A collaboration diagram showing components of an XR system that provides an XR user interface Figure 3B A process flow diagram showing a method of operating one or more hand tracking camera devices, and Figure 3C Showing hand tracking data according to some examples.

[0058] Although Figure 3B the method of operating hand tracking camera device 300 depicts a particular order of operations, the order can be changed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, some of the depicted operations can be performed in parallel, in a different order that does not substantially affect the functionality of the method, or by different components of the XR system.

[0059] An XR system (e.g., the ( Figure 1A ) head-mounted device 100) uses the method of operating hand tracking camera device 300 to provide a continuous real-time input mode to a user of the XR system, where the user interacts with the XR user interface 364 using gestures or hand poses. AR applications can be useful applications such as interactive games, maintenance guides, interactive maps, interactive tours, tutorials, etc. AR applications can also be entertainment applications such as video games, interactive videos, etc.

[0060] In operation 302, the XR system 336 generates an XR user interface 364 provided to the user 330. For example, the XR application 328 generates XR user interface data 338 that includes information about one or more virtual objects of the XR user interface 364. The XR application 328 transmits the XR user interface data 338 to the GPU 342 of the optical engine 362 of the XR system 336. The GPU receives the XR user interface data 338 and generates graphics data 346 based on the XR user interface data 338. The graphics data 346 includes image data of one or more virtual objects of the XR user interface 364. The GPU 342 transmits the graphics data 346 to the image display driver 340 of the optical engine 362. The image display driver 340 receives the graphics data 346 and generates a display control signal 344 based on the graphics data 346. The image display driver 340 uses the display control signal 344 to control the operation of one or more optical components 322 of the optical engine 362. In response to the display control signal 344, the optical components 322 generate a visible image of the XR user interface 364 provided to the user 330.

[0061] In operation 304, the XR system 336 captures tracking video frame data 382 of a hand gesture 352 being made by the user. For example, the XR system 336 uses one or more visible light cameras 326 to capture the hand gesture 352 being made by one or more hands 350 of the user. The hands 350 of the user may be illuminated by ambient light 354 from an ambient light source 360. The ambient light source 360 may be a natural light source such as the sun, or may be an artificial light source such as a lamp.

[0062] In operation 306, the XR system 336 generates hand tracking data 334 based on the tracked video frame data 382. For example, the hand tracking component 324 of the XR system 336 identifies landmark features on various parts of one or more hands 350 of the user 330 captured in the tracked video frame data 384. In some examples, the hand tracking component 324 extracts landmarks of one or more hands 350 of the user from the tracked video frame data 384 using computer vision methods, which include but are not limited to Harris corner detection, Shi-Tomasi corner detection, scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT), speeded-up robust features (SURF), features from accelerated segment test (FAST), oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF (ORB), etc. The hand tracking component 324 generates the hand tracking data 334 based on the landmarks extracted from the tracked video frame data 382, using artificial intelligence methods and the hand tracking model 332 previously generated using machine learning methods. In some examples, the hand tracking model 332 includes but is not limited to neural networks, learning vector quantization networks, logistic regression models, support vector machines, random decision forests, naive Bayes models, linear discriminant analysis models, and k-nearest neighbor models. In some examples, the machine learning methods for generating the hand tracking model 332 may include but are not limited to supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, reinforcement learning, dimensionality reduction, self-learning, feature learning, sparse dictionary learning, and anomaly detection.

[0063] In some examples, the hand tracking data 334 includes a sequence of bone models in a 3D coordinate system based on the landmark features extracted from the tracked video frame data 382, such as Figure 3C the bone model 372. The bone model includes bone model features, such as the index finger node 374, which correspond to the identified visual landmarks, such as the index finger landmarks 386 of various parts of one or more hands 350 of the user 330. In some examples, the hand tracking data 334 includes landmark data, such as landmark identifiers, the physical positions of the landmarks, the connections between the joints of the user's fingers (such as connection 376), and classification information of one or more landmarks associated with one or more hands 350 of the user 330.

[0064] In some examples, the hand tracking data 334 includes a hand tracking confidence level, which indicates the probability that the bone model 372 of the hand tracking data 334 represents a hand pose being made by the user. A high hand tracking confidence level indicates that the bone model 372 of the hand tracking data 334 is likely to match the hand pose being made by the user 330. A low hand tracking confidence level indicates a low probability that the bone model 372 matches the hand pose being made by the user 330.

[0065] In some examples, the hand tracking component 324 operates as a classifier that classifies the gesture or hand pose 352 being made by the user 330 as a hand pose or gesture that can be recognized by the hand tracking component 324 as a valid XR user interface input. The hand tracking model 332 defines one or more hyperplanes within the hyperspace of possible hand pose or gesture user inputs, where each hyperplane represents a recognizable hand pose or gesture. The hand tracking confidence level is calculated based on the distance within the hyperspace between the input hand pose or gesture and the hyperplane representing the recognizable hand pose or gesture. In some examples, the hand tracking model 332 includes a multi-layer neural network, and a confidence level is calculated for each layer, and the hand tracking confidence level is calculated based on one or more confidence levels generated at each layer of the multi-layer neural network.

[0066] In some examples, the hand tracking confidence level ranges between 0.0 and 1.0. In some examples, the hand tracking confidence level is expressed as a percentage between 0% and 100%.

[0067] In some examples, the hand tracking confidence level may drop below a threshold confidence value because the reduced visible light level of the ambient light 354 affects the performance level of one or more visible light camera devices 326.

[0068] In operation 308, the XR system 336 compares the hand tracking confidence level with a threshold confidence value. Based on determining that the hand tracking confidence level is above the threshold confidence value, the XR system transitions 370 to operation 320 and continues to capture tracking video frame data 382.

[0069] In operation 320, the hand tracking component 324 of the XR system 336 transmits the hand tracking data 334 to the XR application 328. The XR application uses the hand tracking data 334 as a user input to the XR user interface 364 provided by the XR application 328. The XR system 336 continues to operate by transitioning to operation 304.

[0070] In operation 308, based on determining that the hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, the XR system transitions 378 to operation 310.

[0071] In operation 310, the XR system 336 activates one or more hand tracking camera devices 366 of the XR system. The one or more hand tracking camera devices 366 capture tracking video frame data 384 of the hand pose 352 being made by the user 330 using one or more hands 350 of the user.

[0072] In some examples, one or more hand-tracking camera devices 366 have a lower resolution than one or more visible-light camera devices 326, but have higher sensitivity in the case of reduced visible light levels. This enables one or more hand-tracking camera devices 366 to capture tracking video frame data 384 of one or more hands 350 of a user at low visible light levels.

[0073] In some examples, one or more hand-tracking camera devices 366 are IR camera devices sensitive to IR light.

[0074] In some examples, one or more hand-tracking camera devices 366 are wide-spectrum camera devices and are sensitive to IR light and visible light. In some examples, one or more hand-tracking camera devices 366 are wide-spectrum camera devices and are sensitive to IR light, visible light, and ultraviolet (UV) light. Using wide-spectrum camera devices can enable one or more hand-tracking camera devices 366 to capture tracking video frame data 384 of one or more hands 350 of a user using a combination of the visible light component, IR light component, and / or UV light component in ambient light 354.

[0075] In some examples, in operation 310, the XR system 336 deactivates one or more visible-light camera devices 326 to save power.

[0076] In operation 312, the XR system 336 uses one or more hand-tracking camera devices 366 to capture tracking video frame data 384 of hand gestures 352 being made by one or more hands 350 of a user. The hands 350 of the user can be illuminated by ambient light 354 from an ambient light source 360. The ambient light source 360 can be a natural light source such as the sun, or can be an artificial light source such as a lamp.

[0077] In operation 314, the XR system 336 generates hand-tracking data 334 based on the tracking video frame data 384 generated by one or more hand-tracking camera devices 366, as described above with reference to operation 306.

[0078] In operation 316, the XR system 336 compares the hand-tracking confidence level of the generated hand-tracking data 334 with a threshold confidence value. Based on determining that the hand-tracking confidence level is above the threshold confidence value, the XR system transitions 368 to operation 320 and continues with the operations described herein.

[0079] Based on determining that the hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, the XR system 380 transitions to operation 318. In some examples, the hand tracking confidence level may drop below the threshold confidence value when using one or more hand tracking camera devices 366 because the light level of the ambient light 354 provided by the ambient light source 360 is too low to properly operate one or more hand tracking camera devices 366.

[0080] In operation 318, the XR system 336 activates the light emitter 348 to provide light 358 to illuminate one or more hands 350 of the user 330. In some examples, the light 358 is sufficient to increase the overall light level of one or more hands 350 of the user 330 being illuminated such that one or more hand tracking camera devices 366 can generate tracking video frame data 384 for use by the hand tracking component 324.

[0081] In some examples, the light emitter 348 is an IR light emitter and the light 358 emitted by the light emitter 348 is IR light. The light emitter 348 emits IR light that illuminates one or more hands 350 of the user 330. In some examples, one or more hand tracking camera devices 366 are IR camera devices sensitive to IR light and are operable to capture hand poses 352 using the IR light illuminating one or more hands 350.

[0082] In some examples, one or more hand tracking camera devices 366 are wide - spectrum camera devices sensitive to IR light and visible light. In some examples, one or more wide - spectrum camera devices are sensitive to IR light, visible light, and UV light. As wide - spectrum camera devices, the hand tracking camera devices 366 are operable to capture hand poses 352 using the IR light illuminating one or more hands 350.

[0083] In some examples, the light emitter 348 is a visible light emitter and provides illumination for one or more visible light camera devices 326 such that one or more visible light camera devices 326 can operate under low - light conditions.

[0084] After activating the light emitter 348 in operation 318, the XR system continues the operations described herein at operation 320.

[0085] In some examples, the hand - tracking component 324 of the XR system determines a hand - tracking confidence level based on first tracking video - frame data 382, which includes one or more first images captured by one or more camera devices of a first type (such as, but not limited to, a visible - light camera device 326). The XR system 336 determines whether the hand - tracking confidence level fails to exceed a threshold confidence value. In response to determining that the hand - tracking confidence level fails to exceed the threshold confidence value, the XR system activates one or more camera devices of a second type (such as, but not limited to, an IR camera device or a wide - spectrum camera device, such as a hand - tracking camera device 366) to capture second tracking video - frame data 384 that includes a second set of one or more images.

[0086] In some examples, the hand - tracking component 324 of the XR system uses a light sensor 388 to capture ambient light 354 and generates a light level based on the captured light. The XR system 336 determines whether the light level fails to exceed a threshold light - level value. In response to determining that the light level fails to exceed the threshold light - level value, the XR system 336 activates one or more IR camera devices or wide - spectrum camera devices, such as a hand - tracking camera device 366, and a light emitter 348 (such as, but not limited to, an IR light emitter, etc.).

[0087] In some examples, the XR system utilizes various APIs and system libraries to perform the functions of the hand - tracking pipeline 356, the XR application 328, and the image - display driver 340.

[0088] System with a head - wearable device

[0089] Figure 4 FIG. shows a system 400 including a head - wearable device 100 with a selector input device according to some examples. Figure 4 is a high - level functional block diagram of an example head - wearable device 100 communicatively coupled to a mobile device 414 and various server systems 404 (such as, an interaction server system 510) via various networks 508.

[0090] The head - wearable device 100 includes one or more camera devices, where each of the one or more camera devices can be, for example, one or more visible - light camera devices 408, a light emitter 410, and one or more wide - spectrum camera devices 412.

[0091] The mobile device 414 is connected to the head - wearable device 100 using both a low - power wireless connection 416 and a high - speed wireless connection 418. The mobile device 414 is also connected to the server system 404 and the network 406.

[0092] The head-wearable device 100 further includes two image displays in the image display 420 of the optical component. The two image displays 420 of the optical component include one image display associated with the left lateral side of the head-wearable device 100 and one image display associated with the right lateral side of the head-wearable device 100. The head-wearable device 100 further includes an image display driver 422 and a GPU 424. The image display 420 of the optical component, the image display driver 422, and the GPU 424 constitute the optical engine of the head-wearable device 100. The image display 420 of the optical component is configured to present images and videos to the user of the head-wearable device 100, including images that may include a graphical user interface.

[0093] The image display driver 422 commands and controls the image display 420 of the optical component. The image display driver 422 may directly deliver image data to the image display 420 of the optical component for presentation or may convert the image data into a signal or data format suitable for delivery to an image display device. For example, the image data may be video data formatted according to a compression format such as H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10), HEVC, Theora, Dirac, RealVideo RV40, VP8, VP9, etc., and the still image data may be formatted according to a compression format such as Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), or Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF), etc.

[0094] The head-wearable device 100 includes a frame and rods (or temple arms) extending from the lateral sides of the frame. The head-wearable device 100 further includes a user input device 430 (e.g., a touch sensor or a push button), including an input surface on the head-wearable device 100. The user input device 430 (e.g., a touch sensor or a push button) is configured to receive input selections from the user to manipulate the graphical user interface of the presented images.

[0095] Figure 4 The components shown for the head-wearable device 100 are located on one or more circuit boards such as a PCB or a flexible PCB in the temple or temple arms. Alternatively or additionally, the depicted components may be located in the block, frame, hinge, or nose bridge of the head-wearable device 100. The left visible light camera device 408 and the right visible light camera device 408 may include digital camera device elements such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors, charge-coupled devices, camera device lenses, or any other corresponding visible light or light-capturing elements that may be used to capture data, including images of scenes with unknown objects.

[0096] The head-wearable device 100 includes a memory 402 that stores instructions for performing a subset or all of the functions described herein. The memory 402 may also include a storage device.

[0097] As Figure 4 shown, the high-speed circuitry 428 includes a high-speed processor 432, a memory 402, and a high-speed wireless circuitry 434. In some examples, the image display driver 422 is coupled to the high-speed circuitry 428 and is operated by the high-speed processor 432 to drive the left and right image displays of the image display 420 of the optical assembly. The high-speed processor 432 can be any processor capable of managing the high-speed communication and operation of any general computing system required for the head-wearable device 100. The high-speed processor 432 includes the processing resources required to manage high-speed data transfer over the high-speed wireless connection 418 to a wireless local area network (WLAN) using the high-speed wireless circuitry 434. In some examples, the high-speed processor 432 executes an operating system of the head-wearable device 100, such as the LINUX operating system or other such operating systems, and the operating system is stored in the memory 402 for execution. In addition to any other duties, the high-speed processor 432 that executes the software architecture for the head-wearable device 100 is used to manage data transfer with the high-speed wireless circuitry 434. In certain examples, the high-speed wireless circuitry 434 is configured to implement the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 communication standard, which is also referred to herein as WiFi. In some examples, the high-speed wireless circuitry 434 may implement other high-speed communication standards.

[0098] The low-power wireless circuitry 436 and the high-speed wireless circuitry 434 of the head-wearable device 100 may include a short-range transceiver (Bluetooth TM ) and a wireless wide area network, local area network, or wide area network transceiver (e.g., cellular or WiFi). The mobile device 414 (including transceivers that communicate via the low-power wireless connection 416 and the high-speed wireless connection 418) may be implemented using the details of the architecture of the head-wearable device 100 or other elements of the network 406.

[0099] Memory 402 includes any storage device capable of storing various data and applications, the various data and applications including camera device data generated by left visible light camera device 408 and right visible light camera device 408, wide spectrum camera device 412, and GPU 424, as well as images for display on the image display of image display 420 of the optical component generated by image display driver 422. Although memory 402 is shown as integrated with high-speed circuitry 428, in some examples, memory 402 may be a separate stand-alone component of head-wearable device 100. In some such examples, electrical wiring may provide a connection from GPU 424 or low-power processor 438 to memory 402 through a chip including high-speed processor 432. In some examples, high-speed processor 432 may manage the addressing of memory 402 such that low-power processor 438 will initiate high-speed processor 432 whenever a read or write operation involving memory 402 is needed.

[0100] As Figure 4 shown, low-power processor 438 or high-speed processor 432 of head-wearable device 100 may be coupled to camera devices (visible light camera device 408, light emitter 410, or wide spectrum camera device 412), image display driver 422, user input device 430 (e.g., touch sensor or push button), and memory 402.

[0101] Head-wearable device 100 is connected to a host computer. For example, head-wearable device 100 is paired with mobile device 414 via high-speed wireless connection 418 or connected to server system 404 via network 406. Server system 404 may be one or more computing devices that are part of a service or network computing system, e.g., including a processor, memory, and network communication interface to communicate with mobile device 414 and head-wearable device 100 via network 406.

[0102] Mobile device 414 includes a processor and a network communication interface coupled to the processor. The network communication interface allows communication via network 406, low-power wireless connection 416, or high-speed wireless connection 418. Mobile device 414 may also store at least part of the instructions for generating stereophonic audio content in the memory of mobile device 414 to implement the functions described herein.

[0103] The output components of the head-wearable device 100 include visual components, such as displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), light-emitting diode (LED) displays, projectors, or waveguides. The image display of the optical component is driven by an image display driver 422. The output components of the head-wearable device 100 also include acoustic components (e.g., speakers), tactile components (e.g., vibration motors), other signal generators, etc. The input components of the head-wearable device 100, the mobile device 414, and the server system 404, such as the user input device 430, may include alphanumeric input components (e.g., keyboards, touchscreens configured to receive alphanumeric input, optical keyboards, or other alphanumeric input components), point-based input components (e.g., mice, touchpads, trackballs, joysticks, motion sensors, or other pointing instruments), tactile input components (e.g., physical buttons, touchscreens that provide the location and force of a touch or touch gesture, or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., microphones), etc.

[0104] The head-wearable device 100 may also include additional peripheral device elements. Such peripheral device elements may include biometric sensors, additional sensors, or display elements integrated with the head-wearable device 100. For example, the peripheral device elements may include any I / O components, which include output components, motion components, position components, or any other such elements described herein.

[0105] For example, biometric components include components for detecting expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, voice expressions, body postures, or eye tracking), measuring biometric signals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, sweating, or brain waves), identifying people (e.g., voice recognition, retina recognition, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, or electroencephalogram-based recognition), etc. Motion components include acceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometers), gravity sensor components, rotational sensor components (e.g., gyroscopes), etc. Position components include positioning sensor components for generating positioning coordinates (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) receiver components), Wi-Fi or Bluetooth TM transceivers for generating positioning system coordinates, altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detect air pressure, from which altitude can be obtained), orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), etc. Such positioning system coordinates may also be received from the mobile device 414 via the low-power wireless circuitry 436 or the high-speed wireless circuitry 434 through the low-power wireless connection 416 and the high-speed wireless connection 418.

[0106] Networked computing environment

[0107] Figure 5FIG. 0 is a block diagram illustrating an example interaction system 500 for facilitating interactions over a network, such as exchanging text messages, making text, audio, and video calls, or playing games. Interaction system 500 includes a plurality of XR systems 502, each of the plurality of XR systems 502 hosting a plurality of applications including an interaction client 504 and other applications 506. Each interaction client 504 is communicatively coupled via one or more communication networks including a network 508 (e.g., the Internet) to other instances of interaction client 504 (e.g., hosted on a corresponding other XR system 502), an interaction server system 510, and a third-party server 512. Interaction client 504 can also communicate with locally hosted applications 506 using an application programming interface (API).

[0108] Each computing system 502 can include one or more user devices, such as a mobile device 414, a head-wearable device 100, and a computer client device 514, which are communicatively connected to exchange data and messages.

[0109] Interaction client 504 interacts via network 508 with other interaction clients 504 and with interaction server system 510. Data exchanged between interaction clients 504 (e.g., interaction 516) and between interaction client 504 and interaction server system 510 includes functionality (e.g., commands to activate functionality) and payload data (e.g., text, audio, video, or other multimedia data).

[0110] Interaction server system 510 provides server-side functionality to interaction client 504 via network 508. While certain functions of interaction system 500 are described herein as being performed by interaction client 504 or by interaction server system 510, the location of certain functions within interaction client 504 or within interaction server system 510 can be a design choice. For example, it may be technically preferred to initially deploy a particular technology and functionality within interaction server system 510, but later migrate the technology and functionality to interaction client 504 where the computing system 502 has sufficient processing power.

[0111] Interaction server system 510 supports a variety of services and operations provided to interaction client 504. Such operations include sending data to interaction client 504, receiving data from interaction client 504, and processing data generated by interaction client 504. The data can include message content, client device information, geolocation information, media enhancements and overlays, message content persistence conditions, social network information, and live event information. Data exchange within interaction system 500 is activated and controlled by functionality available via a user interface (UI) of interaction client 504.

[0112] Turning now specifically to the interaction server system 510, an application programming interface (API) server 518 is coupled to and provides a programming interface for an interaction server 520, making the functionality of the interaction server 520 accessible to interaction clients 504, other applications 506, and third-party servers 512. The interaction server 520 is communicatively coupled to a database server 522 to facilitate access to a database 524 that stores data associated with interactions processed by the interaction server 520. Similarly, a web server 526 is coupled to the interaction server 520 and provides a web-based interface to the interaction server 520. To that end, the web server 526 processes incoming network requests via the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and several other related protocols.

[0113] The application programming interface (API) server 518 receives and sends interaction data (e.g., commands and message payloads) between the interaction server 520 and the XR system 502 (and, for example, interaction clients 504 and other applications 506) and third-party servers 512. Specifically, the application programming interface (API) server 518 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that interaction clients 504 and other applications 506 can call or query to activate the functionality of the interaction server 520. The application programming interface (API) server 518 exposes various functions supported by the interaction server 520, including account registration; login functionality; sending interaction data from a particular interaction client 504 to another interaction client 504 via the interaction server 520; transmitting media files (e.g., images or videos) from an interaction client 504 to the interaction server 520; setting a collection of media data (e.g., a story); retrieving a list of friends of a user of the computing system 502; retrieving messages and content; adding and deleting entities (e.g., friends) to and from an entity graph (e.g., a social graph); locating friends within the social graph; and opening application events (e.g., related to an interaction client 504).

[0114] The interaction server 520 hosts multiple systems and subsystems, which are described below with reference to Figure 7 as follows.

[0115] Linked Applications

[0116] Returning to the interactive client 504, the features and functionality of external resources (e.g., linked application 506 or applet) are made available to the user via the interface of the interactive client 504. In this context, "external" refers to the fact that the application 506 or applet is external to the interactive client 504. Although external resources are typically provided by a third party, they can also be provided by the creator or provider of the interactive client 504. The interactive client 504 receives a user selection of an option for initiating or accessing the features of such an external resource. The external resource can be an application 506 installed on the computing system 502 (e.g., "native app"), or a scaled-down version of an application hosted on or remote to the computing system 502 (e.g., on a third-party server 512) (e.g., "applet"). The scaled-down version of the application includes a subset of the features and functionality of the application (e.g., the full-scale, native version of the application) and is implemented using a markup language document. In some examples, the scaled-down version of the application (e.g., "applet") is a web-based markup language version of the application and is embedded within the interactive client 504. In addition to using a markup language document (e.g.,.*ml file), the applet can include a scripting language (e.g.,.*js file or.json file) and a style sheet (e.g.,.*ss file).

[0117] In response to receiving a user selection of an option for initiating or accessing the features of an external resource, the interactive client 504 determines whether the selected external resource is a web-based external resource or a locally installed application 506. In some cases, an application 506 locally installed on the computing system 502 can be launched independently of and separate from the interactive client 504, e.g., by selecting an icon corresponding to the application 506 on the home screen of the computing system 502. A scaled-down version of such an application can be launched or accessed via the interactive client 504, and in some examples, no part or only a limited part of the scaled-down application can be accessed outside of the interactive client 504. The scaled-down application can be launched by receiving, e.g., a markup language document associated with the scaled-down application from a third-party server 512 via the interactive client 504 and processing such a document.

[0118] In response to determining that the external resource is a locally installed application 506, the interactive client 504 instructs the computing system 502 to launch the external resource by executing locally stored code corresponding to the external resource. In response to determining that the external resource is a web-based resource, the interactive client 504 communicates with, e.g., a third-party server 512 to obtain a markup language document corresponding to the selected external resource. The interactive client 504 then processes the obtained markup language document to render the web-based external resource within the user interface of the interactive client 504.

[0119] The interactive client 504 may notify a user of the computing system 502 or other users related to such a user (e.g., “friends”) of an activity occurring in one or more external resources. For example, the interactive client 504 may provide a notification to participants in a conversation (e.g., a chat session) in the interactive client 504 regarding current or recent use of an external resource by one or more members of a group of users. One or more users may be invited to join an active external resource or to initiate (within the group of friends) an external resource that was recently used but is currently inactive. The external resource may provide the ability to share items, conditions, statuses, or locations within the external resource with one or more members of a group of users in a chat session to the respective participants in the conversation using the corresponding interactive client 504. The shared item may be an interactive chat card that the members of the chat can interact with, such as to initiate the corresponding external resource, view specific information within the external resource, or take the members of the chat to a specific location or status within the external resource. Within a given external resource, a response message may be sent to a user on the interactive client 504. The external resource may selectively include different media items in the response based on the current context of the external resource.

[0120] The interactive client 504 may present a list of available external resources (e.g., applications 506 or applets) to initiate or access a given external resource. The list may be presented in the form of a context-sensitive menu. For example, the icons representing different applications (or applets) of the application 506 (or applet) may vary based on how the menu is initiated (e.g., from a conversation interface or from a non-conversation interface) by the user.

[0121] Data Architecture

[0122] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing a data structure 600 that may be stored in a database 604 of the interactive server system 510 according to some examples. Although the contents of the database 604 are shown as including multiple tables, it will be appreciated that data may be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., as an object-oriented database).

[0123] The database 604 includes message data stored within a message table 606. For any particular message, the message data includes at least message sender data, message recipient (or receiver) data, and a payload. Further details regarding information that may be included in a message and included within the message data stored in the message table 606 are described below with reference to Figure 6 Describe additional details regarding the information that may be included in a message and included within the message data stored in the message table 606.

[0124] The entity table 608 stores entity data and is linked (e.g., to a reference ground) to the entity graph 610 and the profile data 602. Entities whose records are maintained within the entity table 608 can include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects, locations, events, etc. Any entity for which the interaction server system 510 stores data about it can be an identified entity, regardless of the entity type. Each entity is set with a unique identifier and an entity type identifier (not shown).

[0125] The entity graph 610 stores information about the relationships and associations between entities. For example, such relationships can be social relationships based on interests or activities, professional relationships (e.g., working in the same company or organization). Some relationships between entities can be one-way, such as a personal user's subscription to digital content (e.g., a newspaper or other digital media channel or brand) of a business or publishing user. Other relationships can be two-way, such as the "friend" relationship between individual users of the interaction system 500.

[0126] Certain permissions and relationships can be attached to each relationship and also to each direction of the relationship. For example, a two-way relationship (e.g., the friend relationship between individual users) can include authorization for the public disclosure of digital content items between individual users, but certain restrictions or filters (e.g., based on content characteristics, location data, or time-of-day data) can be imposed on such public disclosure of digital content items. Similarly, the subscription relationship between a personal user and a business user can impose different degrees of restrictions on the public disclosure of digital content from the business user to the personal user, and can greatly limit or prevent the public disclosure of digital content from the personal user to the business user. As an example of an entity, a particular user can record certain restrictions (e.g., in the form of privacy settings) in the record of that entity within the entity table 608. Such privacy settings can apply to all types of relationships within the context of the interaction system 500, or can be selectively applied to only certain types of relationships.

[0127] The profile data 602 stores various types of profile data about a particular entity. Based on the privacy settings specified by the particular entity, the profile data 602 can be selectively used and presented to other users of the interaction system 500. In the case where the entity is a person, the profile data 602 includes, for example, a username, a phone number, an address, settings (e.g., notification and privacy settings), and a user-selected avatar representation (or a set of such avatar representations). Then, a particular user can selectively include one or more of these avatar representations within the content of messages transmitted via the interaction system 500 and on the map interface displayed by the interaction client 504 to other users. The set of avatar representations can include "status avatars" that present graphical representations of the status or activities that the user can choose to transmit at a particular time.

[0128] In the case where the entity is a group, in addition to the group name, members, and various settings for the associated group (e.g., notifications), the profile data 602 for the group can similarly include one or more avatar representations associated with the group.

[0129] The database 604 also stores enhancement data, such as overlays or filters, in an enhancement table 612. The enhancement data is associated with videos (the data of which is stored in a video table 614) and images (the data of which is stored in an image table 616) and is applied to the videos and images.

[0130] In some examples, a filter is an overlay that is displayed as an overlay on an image or video during presentation to the message recipient. Filters can have various types, including a filter selected by a user from a set of filters presented to the message sender by the interactive client 504 when the message sender is composing a message. Other types of filters include geolocation filters (also known as geo-filters), which can be presented to the message sender based on geolocation. For example, specific geo-location filters for a nearby or special location can be presented by the interactive client 504 within the user interface based on geolocation information determined by the global positioning system (GPS) unit of the computing system 502.

[0131] Another type of filter is a data filter, which can be selectively presented to the message sender by the interactive client 504 based on other input or information collected by the computing system 502 during the message creation process. Examples of data filters include the current temperature at a specific location, the current speed at which the message sender is traveling, the battery life of the computing system 502, or the current time.

[0132] Other enhancement data that can be stored in the image table 616 includes augmented reality content items (e.g., corresponding to an applied Lens or augmented reality experience). Augmented reality content items can be real-time special effects and sounds that can be added to an image or video.

[0133] As described above, enhanced data includes AR, VR, and mixed reality (MR) content items, overlays, image transformations, images, and modifications that can be applied to image data (e.g., video or images). This includes real-time modifications that utilize the modifications to modify an image when an image is captured using a device sensor (e.g., one or more camera devices) of computing system 502 and then displayed on the screen of computing system 502. This also includes modifications to stored content (e.g., video segments within a collection or group that can be modified). For example, in computing system 502 that accesses multiple augmented reality content items, a user can use a single video segment with the multiple augmented reality content items to see how the different augmented reality content items will modify the stored segment. Similarly, real-time video capture can use the modifications to show how the video images currently captured by the sensors of computing system 502 will modify the captured data. Such data can be displayed only on the screen without being stored in memory, or the content captured by the device sensors can be recorded and stored in memory with or without modifications (or both with and without modifications). In some systems, a preview feature can simultaneously show how different augmented reality content items will look within different windows on a display. For example, this can enable multiple windows with different pseudo-random animations to be viewed simultaneously on the display.

[0134] Accordingly, using data of augmented reality content items and various systems or other such transformation systems that use the data to modify content can involve: detection of various objects (e.g., faces, hands, bodies, cats, dogs, surfaces, objects, etc.) within a video frame, tracking of such objects as they leave, enter, and move around within the field of view, and modification or transformation of such objects when tracking them. In various examples, different methods can be used to implement such transformations. Some examples can involve: generating a three-dimensional mesh model of one or more objects; and using transformations and animated textures of the model within the video to implement the transformation. In some examples, tracking of points on an object can be used to place an image or texture (which can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional) at the tracked location. In yet another example, neural network analysis of a video frame can be used to place an image, model, or texture within the content (e.g., an image or video frame). Accordingly, augmented reality content items involve both the images, models, and textures for creating transformations within the content and the additional modeling and analysis information required to implement such transformations using object detection, tracking, and placement.

[0135] Real-time video processing can be performed using any kind of video data (e.g., video streams, video files, etc.) stored in the memory of any kind of computerized system. For example, a user can load video files and save them in the device's memory, or can use the device's sensors to generate a video stream. Additionally, computer animation models can be used to process any object, such as a person's face and various parts of a person's body, an animal, or a non-living object (e.g., a chair, a car, or other object).

[0136] In some examples, when a specific modification is selected along with the content to be transformed, the element to be transformed is identified by the computing device and then, if the element to be transformed exists in a frame of the video, it is detected and tracked. The elements of the object are modified according to the modification request, thereby transforming the frame of the video stream. For different kinds of transformations, the frames of the video stream can be transformed by different methods. For example, for a frame transformation that mainly involves changing the form of the elements of an object (e.g., using an Active Shape Model (ASM) or other known methods), characteristic points are calculated for each element of the object. Then, a grid based on the characteristic points is generated for each element of the object. This grid is used in the subsequent stage of tracking the elements of the object in the video stream. During the tracking process, the grid for each element is aligned with the position of each element. Then, additional points are generated on the grid.

[0137] In some examples, the transformation of changing some regions of an object using the elements of the object can be performed by calculating the characteristic points for each element of the object and generating a grid based on the calculated characteristic points. Points are generated on the grid, and then various regions based on these points are generated. Then, the elements of the object are tracked by aligning the region of each element with the position of each element in at least one element, and the nature of the region can be modified based on the modification request, thereby transforming the frame of the video stream. Depending on the specific modification request, the nature of the regions mentioned can be transformed in different ways. Such modifications can involve: changing the color of the region; removing some parts of the region from the frame of the video stream; including a new object in the region based on the modification request; and modifying or distorting the region or the elements of the object. In various examples, any combination of such modifications or other similar modifications can be used. For some models to be animated, some characteristic points can be selected as control points for determining the entire state space of the options for model animation.

[0138] In some examples of computer animation models for using face detection to transform image data, a specific face detection algorithm (e.g., Viola-Jones) is used to detect faces in the image. Then, the Active Shape Model (ASM) algorithm is applied to the face region of the image to detect face feature reference points.

[0139] Other suitable methods and algorithms for face detection can be used. For example, in some examples, landmarks are used to locate virtual features, which represent distinguishable points present in most of the images under consideration. For example, for face landmarks, the location of the left eye pupil can be used. If the initial landmarks are not recognizable (e.g., in the case where a person has an eye patch), secondary landmarks can be used. Such a landmark recognition process can be used for any such object. In some examples, a set of landmarks forms a shape. The coordinates of the points in the shape can be used to represent the shape as a vector. One shape is aligned with another shape using a similarity transformation (which allows translation, scaling, and rotation), which minimizes the average Euclidean distance between the shape points. The mean shape is the average of the aligned training shapes.

[0140] The transformation system can capture an image or video stream on a client device (e.g., computing system 502) and perform complex image manipulations locally on the computing system 502 while maintaining an appropriate user experience, computation time, and power consumption. Complex image manipulations can include size and shape changes, emotion transformation (e.g., changing a face from a frown to a smile), state transformation (e.g., making the subject older, reducing the apparent age, changing gender), style transformation, application of graphical elements, and any other suitable image or video manipulations implemented by a convolutional neural network that has been configured to execute efficiently on the computing system 502.

[0141] In some examples, a computer animation model for transforming image data can be used by the following system: In this system, a user can use a computing system 502 having a neural network operating as part of an interactive client 504 operating on the computing system 502 to capture an image or video stream of the user (e.g., a selfie). A transformation system operating within the interactive client 504 determines the presence of a face within the image or video stream and provides a modification icon associated with the computer animation model to transform the image data, or the computer animation model can be present in association with the interfaces described herein. The modification icon includes as part of the modification operation the changes that will be the basis for modifying the user's face within the image or video stream. Once the modification icon is selected, the transformation system initiates a process of transforming the user's image to reflect the selected modification icon (e.g., generating a smiling face on the user). Once the image or video stream is captured and the specified modification is selected, the modified image or video stream can be presented in a graphical user interface displayed on the computing system 502. The transformation system can implement a complex convolutional neural network on a portion of the image or video stream to generate and apply the selected modification. That is, the user can capture an image or video stream, and once the modification icon is selected, the modified result can be presented to the user in real time or near real time. Additionally, while a video stream is being captured, the modification can be persistent and the selected modification icon remains toggled. Machine-taught neural networks can be used to implement such modifications.

[0142] A graphical user interface presenting the modifications performed by the transformation system can supply additional interaction options to the user. Such options can be based on the interface used to initiate the selection of a particular computer animation model and content capture (e.g., initiated from a content creator user interface). In various examples, after an initial selection of a modification icon, the modification can be persistent. The user can switch on or off the modification by tapping or otherwise selecting the face modified by the transformation system and store it for later viewing or browsing to other areas of the imaging application. In the case where multiple faces are modified by the transformation system, the user can globally switch on or off the modification by tapping or selecting an individual face modified and displayed within the graphical user interface. In some examples, individual faces within a group of multiple faces can be modified separately, or such modifications can be toggled individually by tapping or selecting an individual face or a series of individual faces displayed within the graphical user interface.

[0143] The story table 618 stores data regarding a collection of messages and associated image, video, or audio data, where the messages and associated image, video, or audio data are compiled into a collection (e.g., a story or a gallery). The creation of a particular collection can be initiated by a particular user (e.g., each user for whom a record is maintained in the entity table 608). A user can create a "personal story" in the form of a collection of content that has been created and sent / broadcast by that user. To this end, the user interface of the interaction client 504 can include user-selectable icons to enable a message sender to add specific content to his or her personal story.

[0144] The collection can also constitute a "Live Story" that is a collection of content from multiple users, which is created manually, automatically, or using a combination of manual and automated techniques. For example, a "Live Story" can constitute a curated stream of user-submitted content from various locations and events. Options to contribute content to a specific Live Story can be presented, for example, via the user interface of the interaction client 504 to users whose client devices have location services enabled and are at a co-location event at a specific time. The interaction client 504 can identify Live Stories to a user based on the user's location. The end result is a "Live Story" told from a group perspective.

[0145] Another type of content collection is called a "Location Story", which enables users whose computing system 502 is located within a specific geolocation (e.g., on a college or university campus) to contribute to a specific collection. In some examples, contributing to a Location Story may require secondary authentication to verify that the end user belongs to a specific organization or other entity (e.g., is a student on a university campus).

[0146] As mentioned above, the video table 614 stores video data, which in some examples is associated with messages whose records are maintained in the message table 606. Similarly, the image table 616 stores image data associated with messages whose message data is stored in the entity table 608. The entity table 608 can associate various enhancements from the enhancement table 612 with the various images and videos stored in the image table 616 and the video table 614.

[0147] The database 604 also includes social network information collected by the social network system 722.

[0148] System Architecture

[0149] Figure 7is a block diagram showing additional details regarding an interaction system 500 according to some examples. Specifically, the interaction system 500 is shown to include an interaction client 504 and an interaction server 520. The interaction system 500 includes multiple subsystems that are supported on the client side by the interaction client 504 and on the server side by the interaction server 520. Exemplary subsystems are discussed below.

[0150] The image processing system 702 provides various functions that enable a user to capture and enhance (e.g., enhance or otherwise modify or edit) media content associated with a message.

[0151] The camera device system 704 includes control software (e.g., in a camera device application) that interacts with and controls the hardware camera device of the computing system 502 (e.g., directly or via the operating system) to modify and enhance real-time images captured and displayed via the interaction client 504.

[0152] The enhancement system 706 provides functions related to the generation and publication of enhancements (e.g., media overlays) for images captured in real time by the camera device of the computing system 502 or retrieved from the memory of the computing system 502. For example, the enhancement system 706 operably selects, presents, and displays media overlays (e.g., image filters or image lenses) for the interaction client 504 for enhancing real-time images received via the camera device system 704 or stored images retrieved from the memory 402 of the computing system 502. These enhancements are selected by the enhancement system 706 based on some inputs and data such as:

[0153] · The geolocation of the computing system 502; and

[0154] · Social network information of the user of the computing system 502.

[0155] Enhancements can include audio and visual content as well as visual effects. Examples of audio and visual content include pictures, text, logos, animations, and sound effects. Examples of visual effects include color overlays. The audio and visual content or visual effects can be applied to media content items (e.g., photos or videos) at the computing system 502 for transmission in a message, or applied to video content such as a video content stream or feed sent from the interaction client 504. Thus, the image processing system 702 can interact with and support various subsystems of the communication system 708, such as the messaging system 710 and the video communication system 712.

[0156] Media overlays can include text or image data that can be overlaid on a photo taken by computing system 502 or a video stream produced by computing system 502. In some examples, the media overlay can be a location overlay (e.g., Venice Beach), a live event name, or a business name overlay (e.g., Beach Café). In additional examples, image processing system 702 uses the geolocation of computing system 502 to identify a media overlay that includes the business name at the geolocation of computing system 502. The media overlay can include other markers associated with the business. The media overlay can be stored in database 524 and accessed via database server 522.

[0157] Image processing system 702 provides a user-based publishing platform that enables a user to select a geolocation on a map and upload content associated with the selected geolocation. The user can also specify the context in which a particular media overlay should be provided to other users. Image processing system 702 generates a media overlay that includes the uploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selected geolocation.

[0158] Enhancement creation system 714 supports an augmented reality developer platform and includes applications for content creators (e.g., artists and developers) to create and publish enhancements (e.g., augmented reality experiences) for interactive client 504. Enhancement creation system 714 provides content creators with a library of built-in features and tools that includes, for example, custom shaders, tracking techniques, and templates.

[0159] In some examples, enhancement creation system 714 provides a business-based publishing platform that enables a business to select a specific enhancement associated with a geolocation via an auction process. For example, enhancement creation system 714 associates the media overlay of the highest bidding business with the corresponding geolocation for a predefined amount of time.

[0160] Communication system 708 is responsible for enabling and handling various forms of communication and interaction within interaction system 500, and includes messaging system 710, audio communication system 716, and video communication system 712. Messaging system 710 is responsible for effecting temporary or time-limited access by interaction client 504 to content. Messaging system 710 includes multiple timers (e.g., within short-lived timer system 718), which selectively enable access (e.g., for presentation and display) to messages and associated content via interaction client 504 based on the duration and display parameters associated with a message or collection of messages (e.g., a story). Additional details regarding the operation of short-lived timer system 718 are provided below. Audio communication system 716 enables and supports audio communication (e.g., real-time audio chat) between multiple interaction clients 504. Similarly, video communication system 712 enables and supports video communication (e.g., real-time video chat) between multiple interaction clients 504.

[0161] User management system 720 is operationally responsible for managing user data and profiles, and includes social networking system 722, which maintains social networking information regarding the relationships between users of interaction system 500.

[0162] Collection management system 724 is operationally responsible for managing collections or sets of media (e.g., collections of text, image, video, and audio data). Collections of content (e.g., messages, including images, videos, text, and audio) can be organized into an "event gallery" or "event story". Such collections can be made available for a specified period of time (e.g., the duration of the event to which the content pertains). For example, content related to a concert can be made available as a "story" for the duration of the concert. Collection management system 724 can also be responsible for publishing an icon that provides a notification of a particular collection to the user interface of interaction client 504. Collection management system 724 includes curation functionality that enables a collection manager to manage and curate a particular collection of content. For example, a curation interface enables an event organizer to curate a collection of content related to a particular event (e.g., delete inappropriate content or redundant messages). Additionally, collection management system 724 employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and content rules to automatically curate content collections. In some examples, compensation can be paid to users for including user-generated content in a collection. In such cases, collection management system 724 operates to automatically pay such users for the use of their content.

[0163] The map system 726 provides various geolocation functions and supports the presentation of map-based media content and messages by the interactive client 504. For example, the map system 726 enables the display on the map of user icons or avatars (e.g., stored in the profile data 602) to indicate the current or past locations of the user's "friends" within the context of the map and the media content (e.g., a collection of messages including photos and videos) generated by these friends. For example, on the map interface of the interactive client 504, messages posted by a user from a specific geolocation to the interactive system 500 can be displayed to the "friends" of the specific user within the context of that specific location on the map. A user can also share his or her location and status information with other users of the interactive system 500 via the interactive client 504 (e.g., using an appropriate status avatar), where the location and status information is similarly displayed to the selected users within the context of the map interface of the interactive client 504.

[0164] The game system 728 provides various game functions within the context of the interactive client 504. The interactive client 504 provides a game interface that presents a list of available games that can be launched by the user within the context of the interactive client 504 and played with other users of the interactive system 500. The interactive system 500 also enables a specific user to invite such other users to participate in playing a specific game by sending an invitation from the interactive client 504 to the other users. The interactive client 504 also supports audio, video, and text messaging (e.g., chat) within the context of playing a game, provides a leaderboard for the game, and also supports the provision of in-game rewards (e.g., game currency and items).

[0165] The external resource system 730 provides an interface for the interactive client 504 to communicate with remote servers (e.g., third-party servers 512) to initiate or access external resources (i.e., applications or applets). Each third-party server 512 hosts an application or a scaled-down version of an application (e.g., a game application, a utility application, a payment application, or a ride-sharing application) based on, for example, a markup language (e.g., HTML5). The interactive client 504 can initiate a web-based resource (e.g., an application) by accessing an HTML5 file from a third-party server 512 associated with the web-based resource. The application hosted by the third-party server 512 is programmed in JavaScript using a software development kit (SDK) provided by the interactive server 520. The SDK includes an application programming interface (API) having functions that can be called or activated by the web-based application. The interactive server 520 hosts a JavaScript library that provides access to the given external resources for the specific user data of the interactive client 504. HTML5 is an example of a technology used to program games, but applications and resources programmed based on other technologies can be used.

[0166] To integrate the functionality of the SDK into a web-based resource, the SDK is downloaded from the interaction server 520 by a third-party server 512 or received by the third-party server 512 in some other way. Once downloaded or received, the SDK is included as part of the application code of a web-based external resource. The code of the web-based resource can then call or activate certain functions of the SDK to integrate the features of the interaction client 504 into the web-based resource.

[0167] The SDK stored on the interaction server system 510 effectively provides a bridge between an external resource (e.g., an application 506 or a mini-program) and the interaction client 504. This gives the user a seamless experience of communicating with other users on the interaction client 504 while still retaining the look and feel of the interaction client 504. To bridge the communication between the external resource and the interaction client 504, the SDK facilitates the communication between the third-party server 512 and the interaction client 504. The WebViewJavaScriptBridge running on the computing system 502 establishes two one-way communication channels between the external resource and the interaction client 504. Messages are sent asynchronously between the external resource and the interaction client 504 via these communication channels. Each SDK function activation is sent as a message and a callback. Each SDK function is implemented by constructing a unique callback identifier and sending a message with that callback identifier.

[0168] By using the SDK, not all information from the interaction client 504 is shared with the third-party server 512. The SDK restricts which information is shared based on the needs of the external resource. Each third-party server 512 provides an HTML5 file corresponding to the web-based external resource to the interaction server 520. The interaction server 520 can add a visual representation (e.g., a box design or other graphics) of the web-based external resource in the interaction client 504. Once the user selects the visual representation or indicates via the GUI of the interaction client 504 to access the features of the web-based external resource, the interaction client 504 obtains the HTML5 file and instantiates the resources for accessing the features of the web-based external resource.

[0169] The interactive client 504 presents a graphical user interface for an external resource (e.g., a landing page or a splash screen). During, before, or after presenting the landing page or splash screen, the interactive client 504 determines whether the launched external resource has been previously authorized to access the user data of the interactive client 504. In response to determining that the launched external resource has been previously authorized to access the user data of the interactive client 504, the interactive client 504 presents another graphical user interface of the external resource that includes the functions and features of the external resource. In response to determining that the launched external resource has not been previously authorized to access the user data of the interactive client 504, after a display threshold period (e.g., 3 seconds) of the landing page or splash screen of the external resource, the interactive client 504 slides up a menu (e.g., animates the menu to emerge from the bottom of the screen to the middle or other part of the screen) for authorizing the external resource to access the user data. The menu identifies the types of user data that the external resource will be authorized to use. In response to receiving a user selection of an accept option, the interactive client 504 adds the external resource to the list of authorized external resources and allows the external resource to access the user data from the interactive client 504. The external resource is authorized by the interactive client 504 to access the user data under the OAuth 2 framework.

[0170] The interactive client 504 controls the types of user data shared with the external resource based on the type of the authorized external resource. For example, access to a first type of user data (e.g., a two-dimensional avatar of a user with or without different avatar characteristics) is provided to an external resource that includes a full-scale application (e.g., application 506). As another example, access to a second type of user data (e.g., payment information, a two-dimensional avatar of the user, a three-dimensional avatar of the user, and avatars with various avatar characteristics) is provided to an external resource that includes a small-scale version of the application (e.g., a web-based version of the application). Avatar characteristics include different ways of customizing the appearance and feel of the avatar (e.g., different poses, facial features, clothing, etc.).

[0171] The advertising system 732 operationally enables a third party to purchase advertisements to be presented to end users via the interactive client 504 and also handles the delivery and presentation of these advertisements.

[0172] Software architecture

[0173] Figure 8FIG. 800 is a block diagram showing a software architecture 802 that can be installed on any one or more of the devices described herein. The software architecture 802 is supported by hardware such as a machine 804 that includes a processor 806, a memory 808, and I / O components 810. In this example, the software architecture 802 can be conceptually thought of as a stack of layers, where each layer provides a specific function. The software architecture 802 includes layers such as an operating system 812, libraries 814, frameworks 816, and applications 818. In operation, the application 818 activates API calls 820 through the software stack and receives messages 822 in response to the API calls 820.

[0174] The operating system 812 manages hardware resources and provides common services. The operating system 812 includes, for example: a kernel 824, services 826, and drivers 828. The kernel 824 serves as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers. For example, the kernel 824 provides memory management, processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management, networking, and security settings, among other functions. The services 826 can provide other common services to the other software layers. The drivers 828 are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware. For example, the drivers 828 can include a display driver, a camera device driver, or a low power driver, a flash driver, a serial communication driver (e.g., a USB driver), a driver, an audio driver, a power management driver, and so on.

[0175] The libraries 814 provide common low-level infrastructure used by the applications 818. The libraries 814 can include system libraries 830 (e.g., the C standard library) that provide functions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematical functions, and so on. Additionally, the libraries 814 can include API libraries 832, such as media libraries (e.g., libraries for supporting the presentation and manipulation of various media formats such as Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG4), High Efficiency Video Coding (H.264 or AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) audio codec, Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG), or Portable Network Graphics (PNG)), graphics libraries (e.g., the OpenGL framework for 2D and 3D rendering in graphical content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLite that provides various relational database functions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit that provides web browsing functions), and so on. The libraries 814 can also include various other libraries 834 to provide many other APIs to the applications 818.

[0176] The framework 816 provides a common high-level infrastructure for use by the applications 818. For example, the framework 816 provides various graphical user interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management, and high-level location services. The framework 816 can provide a wide range of other APIs that can be used by the applications 818, some of which may be specific to a particular operating system or platform.

[0177] In an example, the applications 818 can include a home application 836, a contacts application 838, a browser application 840, a book reader application 842, a location application 844, a media application 846, a messaging application 848, a gaming application 850, and various other applications such as third-party applications 852. The applications 818 are programs that execute functions defined in a program. One or more of the applications 818 can be created using various programming languages and constructed in various ways, such as object-oriented programming languages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++) or procedural programming languages (e.g., C language or assembly language). In a particular example, a third-party application 852 (e.g., an application developed using an ANDROID TM or IOS TM software development kit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of a particular platform) can be mobile software that runs on a mobile operating system such as IOS TM 、ANDROID TM 、 Phone, or other mobile operating systems. In this example, the third-party application 852 can activate an API call 820 provided by the operating system 812 to facilitate the functions described herein.

[0178] Conclusion

[0179] Changes and modifications can be made to the disclosed examples without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. These and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as expressed in the appended claims.

[0180] Glossary

[0181] A "carrier signal" refers to any non-tangible medium that can store, encode, or carry instructions executable by a machine and includes digital or analog communication signals or other non-tangible media to facilitate the communication of such instructions. Instructions can be sent or received over a network using a transmission medium via a network interface device.

[0182] "Client device" means any machine that interfaces with a communication network to obtain resources from one or more server systems or other client devices. A client device can be, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop computer, portable digital assistant (PDA), smartphone, tablet computer, ultrabook, netbook, laptop, multiprocessor system, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, game console, set-top box, or any other communication device that a user can use to access the network.

[0183] "Communication network" means one or more portions of a network, which can be an ad hoc network, intranet, extranet, virtual private network (VPN), local area network (LAN), wireless LAN (WLAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless WAN (WWAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), plain old telephone service (POTS) network, cellular telephone network, wireless network, network, other types of networks, or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, a network or a portion of a network can include a wireless network or a cellular network, and the coupling can be a code division multiple access (CDMA) connection, global system for mobile communications (GSM) connection, or other type of cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling can implement any data transfer technology among various types of data transfer technologies, such as single-carrier radio transmission technology (1xRTT), evolved data optimized (EVDO) technology, general packet radio service (GPRS) technology, enhanced data rate GSM evolution (EDGE) technology, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, 4th Generation Wireless (4G) network, universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), high-speed packet access (HSPA), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), long term evolution (LTE) standard, other data transfer technologies defined by various standards-setting organizations, other long-distance protocols, or other data transfer technologies.

[0184] "Component" refers to a device, physical entity, or logic having the following boundaries: the boundaries are defined by functions or subroutine calls, branch points, APIs, or other techniques provided for partitioning or modularizing a particular processing or control function. Components can be combined with other components via their interfaces to perform machine processing. A component can be an encapsulated functional hardware unit designed to be used with other components and can be part of a program that typically performs a particular function among related functions. A component can constitute a software component (e.g., code implemented on a machine-readable medium) or a hardware component. "Hardware component" is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and can be configured or arranged in a physical manner. In various examples, one or more computer systems (e.g., a stand-alone computer system, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one or more hardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) can be configured by software (e.g., an application or a portion of an application) to operate to perform certain operations as described herein as a hardware component. A hardware component can also be implemented mechanically, electronically, or in any suitable combination thereof. For example, a hardware component can include dedicated circuitry or logic permanently configured to perform certain operations. A hardware component can be a dedicated processor, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). A hardware component can also include programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardware component can include software executed by a general-purpose processor or other programmable processor. Once configured by such software, the hardware component becomes a particular machine (or a particular component of a machine) that is uniquely customized to perform the configured function and is no longer a general-purpose processor. It will be recognized that a decision can be made based on cost and time considerations whether to implement a hardware component mechanically in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry or in circuitry that is temporarily configured (e.g., by software). Thus, the phrase "hardware component" (or "hardware-implemented component") should be understood to include a tangible entity, i.e., an entity that is physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hard-wired), or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certain operations described herein. Considering an example where a hardware component is temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), it is not necessary to configure or instantiate each hardware component at any given time. For example, in the case where a hardware component includes a general-purpose processor configured by software to become a dedicated processor, the general-purpose processor can be configured separately as different dedicated processors (e.g., including different hardware components) at different times. The software accordingly configures one or more specific processors to, for example, constitute a particular hardware component at one moment and different hardware components at different moments. A hardware component can provide information to other hardware components and receive information from other hardware components.Accordingly, the described hardware components can be considered to be communicatively coupled. In cases where multiple hardware components are present simultaneously, communication can be achieved through signal transmission between or among two or more of the hardware components (e.g., via appropriate circuitry and buses). In examples where multiple hardware components are configured or instantiated at different times, such communication between the hardware components can be achieved, for example, by storing information in a memory structure accessible to the multiple hardware components and retrieving the information from the memory structure. For example, one hardware component can perform an operation and store the output of the operation in a memory device to which it is communicatively coupled. Then, another hardware component can access the memory device at a subsequent time to retrieve the stored output and process it. The hardware components can also initiate communication with input or output devices and can operate on resources (e.g., collections of information). The various operations of the example methods described herein can be performed at least in part by one or more processors temporarily configured (e.g., via software) or permanently configured to perform the associated operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, such processors can constitute processor-implemented components that operate to perform one or more of the operations or functions described herein. As used herein, a "processor-implemented component" refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors. Similarly, the methods described herein can be at least in part processor-implemented, where a particular one or more processors are examples of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations of the method can be performed by one or more processors or processor-implemented components. Additionally, one or more processors can also operate to support the execution of associated operations in a "cloud computing" environment or operate as "software as a service" (SaaS). For example, at least some of the operations can be performed by a group of computers (as an example of machines including processors), where the operations can be accessed via a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., APIs). The execution of certain operations can be distributed among processors, not residing only within a single machine but deployed across multiple machines. In some examples, the processors or processor-implemented components can be located in a single geographical location (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other examples, the processors or processor-implemented components can be distributed across multiple geographical locations.

[0185] The term "machine-readable storage medium" refers to both machine storage media and transmission media. Thus, these terms include both storage devices / media and carrier / modulated data signals. The terms "computer-readable medium", "machine-readable medium", and "device-readable medium" mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

[0186] "Machine storage medium" means a single or multiple storage devices and media that store executable instructions, routines, and data (e.g., centralized or distributed databases, and associated caches and servers). Accordingly, the term should be considered to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memory as well as optical and magnetic media, including memory internal or external to a processor. Specific examples of machine storage media, computer storage media, and device storage media include: non-volatile memory, including, for example, semiconductor memory devices such as erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), FPGA, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The terms "machine storage medium", "device storage medium", and "computer storage medium" mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. The terms "machine storage medium", "computer storage medium", and "device storage medium" expressly exclude carrier waves, modulated data signals, and other such media, at least some of which are covered by the term "signal medium".

[0187] "Non-transitory machine-readable storage medium" means a tangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions executable by a machine.

[0188] "Signal medium" means any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions executable by a machine, and includes digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media to facilitate the communication of software or data. The term "signal medium" should be considered to include any form of modulated data signal, carrier wave, etc. The term "modulated data signal" means a signal whose one or more characteristics are set or changed in such a way as to encode information in the signal. The terms "transmission medium" and "signal medium" mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

[0189] Without departing from the scope of this disclosure, changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed examples. These and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as expressed in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An XR system, comprising: One or more visible light imaging devices; One or more wide - spectrum imaging devices; One or more processors, and A memory that stores instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the XR system to perform operations, the operations including: Capturing first tracked video frame data of a hand pose of a user of the XR system using the one or more visible light imaging devices; Generating first hand tracking data based on the tracked video frame data, the first hand tracking data including a first bone model and a first hand tracking confidence level, the first hand tracking confidence level indicating the probability that the first bone model matches the user's hand pose; Comparing the first hand tracking confidence level with a threshold confidence value; and Based on determining that the first hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, activating the one or more wide - spectrum imaging devices to capture subsequent tracked video frame data of the user's hand pose.

2. The XR system according to claim 1, wherein The operations further include: Based on determining that the first hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, deactivating the one or more visible light imaging devices.

3. The XR system according to claim 1, Among them, The XR system further includes one or more light emitters, and Wherein, the operations further include: Capturing second tracked video frame data of the user's hand pose using the one or more wide - spectrum imaging devices; Generating second hand tracking data based on the second tracked video frame data captured by the one or more wide - spectrum imaging devices, the second hand tracking data including a second bone model and a second hand tracking confidence level, the second hand tracking confidence level indicating the probability that the second bone model matches the user's hand pose; Comparing the hand tracking confidence level with the threshold confidence value; and Based on determining that the second hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, activating the one or more light emitters to illuminate the user's hand.

4. The XR system according to claim 3, wherein, The one or more light emitters are infrared (IR) light emitters, and the one or more wide - spectrum imaging devices are sensitive to IR light.

5. The XR system according to claim 1, wherein, The operations further include: Generating an XR user interface provided to the user.

6. The XR system according to claim 5, wherein, The operations further include: Using the first hand tracking data as user input to the XR user interface.

7. The XR system according to claim 1, wherein, The XR system includes a head - wearable device.

8. A computer - implemented method, comprising: Capturing, by one or more processors, first tracked video frame data of a hand pose of a user of an XR system using one or more visible light imaging devices of the XR system; Generating, by the one or more processors, first hand tracking data based on the tracked video frame data, the first hand tracking data including a first bone model and a first hand tracking confidence level, the first hand tracking confidence level indicating the probability that the first bone model matches the user's hand pose; comparing, by the one or more processors, the first hand tracking confidence level with a threshold confidence value; and activating, by the one or more processors, one or more wide-spectrum camera devices of the XR system to capture subsequent tracking video frame data of the user's hand pose based on determining that the first hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value.

9. The computer-implemented method according to claim 8, further comprising: deactivating the one or more visible light camera devices based on determining that the first hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value.

10. The computer-implemented method according to claim 8, further comprising: capturing, by the one or more processors, second tracking video frame data of the user's hand pose using the one or more wide-spectrum camera devices; generating, by the one or more processors, second hand tracking data based on the second tracking video frame data captured by the one or more wide-spectrum camera devices, the second hand tracking data including a second bone model and a second hand tracking confidence level, the second hand tracking confidence level indicating the probability that the second bone model matches the user's hand pose; comparing, by the one or more processors, the hand tracking confidence level with a threshold confidence value; and activating, by the one or more processors, one or more light emitters of the XR system to illuminate the user's hand based on determining that the second hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value.

11. The computer-implemented method according to claim 10, wherein, The one or more light emitters are infrared (IR) light emitters, and the one or more wide-spectrum camera devices are sensitive to IR light.

12. The computer-implemented method according to claim 8, further comprising: generating an XR user interface provided to the user.

13. The computer-implemented method according to claim 12, further comprising: using the first hand tracking data as user input to the XR user interface.

14. The computer-implemented method according to claim 8, wherein, The XR system includes a head-mounted device.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, the non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations, the operations including: capturing, using one or more visible light camera devices of an XR system, first tracking video frame data of a hand pose of a user of the XR system; generating, based on the tracking video frame data, first hand tracking data, the first hand tracking data including a first bone model and a first hand tracking confidence level, the first hand tracking confidence level indicating the probability that the first bone model matches the user's hand pose; comparing the first hand tracking confidence level with a threshold confidence value; and activating, based on determining that the first hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, one or more wide-spectrum camera devices of the XR system to capture subsequent tracking video frame data of the user's hand pose.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein, The operations further include: Based on determining that the first hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, deactivate the one or more visible light camera devices.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein, The operations further include: Capturing second tracking video frame data of the user's hand pose using the one or more wide-spectrum camera devices; Generating second hand tracking data based on the second tracking video frame data captured by the one or more wide-spectrum camera devices, the second hand tracking data including a second bone model and a second hand tracking confidence level, the second hand tracking confidence level indicating the probability that the second bone model matches the user's hand pose; Comparing the hand tracking confidence level with a threshold confidence value; and Based on determining that the second hand tracking confidence level is below the threshold confidence value, activating one or more light emitters of the XR system to illuminate the user's hand.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium according to claim 17, wherein, The one or more light emitters are infrared (IR) light emitters, and the one or more wide-spectrum camera devices are sensitive to IR light.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein, The operations further include: Generating an XR user interface provided to the user; and Using the first hand tracking data as user input to the XR user interface.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein, The XR system includes a head-wearable device.

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