Beamforming Spatial Relationship to Human Tissue
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Solution Overview
Problem
Extended reality (XR) devices, such as head-mounted XR equipment, face challenges in minimizing radio frequency (RF) radiation exposure to human tissues like the eyes and brain, particularly due to the proximity of antennas to sensitive areas, which can lead to potential tissue damage over time.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of beamforming techniques that determine the spatial relationship between human tissues and RF beam directions, adjusting the power and direction of beams to minimize exposure while maintaining connectivity with base stations, by using sensors to track eye movement and position, and dynamically steering beams to avoid direct exposure to sensitive tissues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If beamforming is used to direct RF beams toward base stations for maintaining connectivity and data throughput, then communication performance is improved, but RF radiation exposure to nearby sensitive tissues such as the eye increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the treatment of different spatial regions. The beamforming system identifies specific directions where RF beams would expose sensitive tissues (like the eye) to excessive radiation, and applies localized power reduction or beam steering avoidance only in those specific directions, while maintaining full power in directions away from sensitive tissues. This resolves the contradiction by preserving data throughput through beamforming in safe directions while minimizing RF exposure in directions toward the eye.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making the beamforming configuration adaptive and time-varying. The system continuously monitors the spatial relationship between the XR device, the user's eye position (tracked via sensors), and base station directions, and dynamically adjusts beam directions and power levels in real-time. This allows the system to maintain optimal connectivity while adaptively avoiding fixed RF exposure patterns that could consistently hit the eye, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and harmful exposure.
2Reliability
If antenna power is increased to maintain connectivity with base stations in challenging environments, then communication reliability is improved, but RF radiation exposure to human tissues increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing direction-dependent power control. Instead of uniformly reducing power across all directions (which would compromise connectivity), the system identifies specific angular sectors where high power would expose the eye to excessive RF radiation and applies power reduction only in those sectors. In directions away from the eye, the system maintains high power levels to ensure connectivity reliability, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and harmful exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using sensors to continuously track the user's eye position and the spatial relationship between the XR device, the eye, and base stations. This feedback information is used to dynamically adjust beamforming parameters (direction and power) in real-time. The system receives feedback about eye position, processes this information to determine safe versus unsafe beam directions, and adjusts transmission accordingly, resolving the contradiction between maintaining connectivity and minimizing RF exposure to the eye.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for wireless communication performed by a head-mounted user equipment (UE), the method includes determining a first spatial relationship between an eye of a human user of the head-mounted UE and physical transmission and reception ports of the head-mounted UE; based on the first spatial relationship, determining a second spatial relationship between a plurality of radio frequency (RF) beam directions of the head-mounted UE and the eye of the human user; selecting a first RF beam direction from among the plurality of RF beam directions based at least in part on the second spatial relationship with respect to the first RF beam direction; and transmitting or receiving RF radiation using a first RF beam conforming to the first RF beam direction.