Ambient-Adaptive Outer Display for Head-Mounted Social Cues
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional head-mounted devices isolate users from their surroundings, limiting interactions with people in the environment, as they do not provide a way for others to discern the user's emotions or identity.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with an inner display and outer displays on head-mounted support structures that adapt to ambient light conditions, using a tinted layer to reduce infrared interference and adjust the white point of the outer display based on ambient light, allowing the outer display to convey the user's status and identity to nearby individuals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an outer display is added to convey user status to nearby people, then social connectivity and user interaction are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display system is segmented into two independent displays: an inner display for user viewing and an outer display for public viewing. This segmentation allows each display to serve its specific function independently, enabling social connectivity features without compromising the primary user experience, thus managing complexity through functional separation
Solution Approach 2:
The outer display serves multiple functions: displaying user status indicators, showing environmental information, and providing wayfinding cues. By making the display multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for separate components for each function, thereby managing device complexity while enhancing social connectivity
2Adaptability or versatility
If the outer display shows detailed face images to indicate user attention, then social interaction quality improves, but ambient light adaptation becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the outer display are assigned different functions with different light adaptation requirements. The face image region adapts to ambient light for social interaction, while other regions may have fixed or different adaptation characteristics. This local differentiation allows detailed face images to be displayed while maintaining proper ambient light adaptation for the overall display
Solution Approach 2:
The display system dynamically adjusts the white point of different display regions independently based on ambient light conditions and display mode. In passthrough mode, the face image region adapts its white point to match ambient light for natural appearance, while in virtual reality mode, the abstract layer maintains a fixed white point. This dynamic, context-dependent adaptation resolves the contradiction between social interaction quality and ambient light adaptation
3Measurement precision
If the ambient light sensor is positioned close to the outer display for accurate measurements, then measurement precision improves, but display interference with sensor measurements increases
Solution Approach 1:
A tinted layer is introduced as an intermediary between the outer display and the ambient light sensor. This tinted layer filters out infrared light from the display while allowing visible ambient light to pass through to the sensor. By using this intermediary filter, the patent achieves accurate ambient light measurements without interference from the display, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and display interference
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user interaction by allowing nearby people to recognize the user's identity and emotions through adaptive display modes, ensuring consistent skin tone perception under varying lighting conditions, thereby facilitating communication and connection.
Implementation Method 1
A tinted layer over the ambient light sensor may help reduce infrared interference with ambient light measurements
Implementation Method 2
The white point of the face layer may be adapted to the color of ambient light
Data Source
AI summary
A head-mounted device may have an inner display that displays images for a user and an outer display that informs nearby people of the status of the user and inner display. For example, the outer display may display an image of a face, an abstract layer, or both, depending on whether the inner display is operating in passthrough mode, mixed reality mode, or virtual reality mode. An ambient light sensor in the head-mounted device may be used to measure the brightness and color of ambient light. The white point of the face layer on the outer display may be adapted to the color of ambient light, whereas the white point of the abstract layer on the outer display may remain fixed. The white point of a display may be a correlated color temperature setting (e.g., measured in degrees Kelvin) that determines the warmth or coolness of displayed colors.