Ear-worn Device Extends Vision via Edge AI Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional camera-enabled earwear devices have limited field of view and perform only auxiliary computer vision tasks without real-time processing or interaction with users, lacking the ability to extend the user's vision or provide feedback based on environmental understanding.
Innovation Solution
An ear-wearing type electronic device equipped with sensors and processing units that detect information beyond the user's field of view, enabling real-time processing and interaction, such as alerting users to approaching objects or guiding them through navigation feedback, using a combination of cameras and haptic devices for enhanced user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If camera-enabled earwear transmits images to external devices for processing, then computation power is sufficient, but real-time processing and user interaction are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential computer vision processing functions from external devices and implements them directly in the earwear device. By integrating lightweight object detection, face recognition, and gesture recognition algorithms into the earwear's processor, the system achieves real-time processing without relying on external device transmission, thus eliminating latency while maintaining adequate computation power through optimized edge AI capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing of visual data directly at the sensor level and in the earwear's processing unit before any potential transmission. By pre-processing images to extract key features and perform initial object detection, the system reduces the computational burden on external devices and ensures that critical real-time decisions are made locally, maintaining responsiveness while enabling sophisticated processing when needed.
2Device complexity
If camera field of view is limited to user's direct view, then device complexity is low, but extended vision capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the visual monitoring task into multiple segments by employing both a world-facing camera and a user-facing camera with distinct fields of view. The world-facing camera captures the broader environment including areas beyond the user's direct vision, while the user-facing camera focuses on objects the user is looking at. This segmentation allows comprehensive environmental awareness without requiring a single complex wide-angle sensor, thus maintaining manageable device complexity while achieving extended vision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the earwear device universal in its monitoring capability by enabling it to simultaneously perform multiple functions: capturing the user's direct view, monitoring the broader environment, detecting objects beyond the user's field of view, and recognizing gestures from different angles. This multi-functionality is achieved through coordinated operation of multiple cameras and processing algorithms that integrate data from all sensors, providing comprehensive vision extension without proportionally increasing device complexity.
3Measurement precision
If computer vision tasks are processed externally, then processing accuracy is high, but user interaction and feedback are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements immediate feedback loops where computer vision results are processed and communicated to the user in real-time through the earwear device. When objects, faces, or gestures are detected, the system provides instant audio or haptic feedback to the user, enabling direct interaction. This local processing and feedback mechanism maintains high accuracy by using sophisticated algorithms while simultaneously improving ease of operation through responsive user interaction, eliminating the delay and disconnection associated with external processing.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a camera-enabled ear-worn device with systems and methods that extend the user’s view. An electronic device configured to be worn on an ear of the user includes a sensor configured to detect first information about a surrounding of the user, the first information including second information about an area beyond a field of view of the user. The electronic device also includes a processing unit configured to carry out an operation associated with the first information. In an embodiment, the electronic device further includes a communication device configured to communicate with another electronic device.