Eye-tracking cursor control for multi-display navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulties in locating and moving cursors on large or multiple displays due to the time-consuming nature of manual tracking devices.
Innovation Solution
An electronic system that tracks a user's gaze using cameras and depth sensors to automatically move a cursor to a focal area within the user's line of sight, employing saccadic and vergence eye movements to rapidly reposition the cursor across displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If manual tracking devices (mouse, trackpad) are used to move the cursor, then the cursor can be precisely controlled, but it becomes time-consuming and difficult to locate and move the cursor on large or multiple displays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical tracking devices (mouse, trackpad) with an eye-tracking system that uses optical sensors to detect eye movements. The system captures images of the user's eye, determines gaze position and saccadic movements, and automatically moves the cursor accordingly, eliminating the need for manual mechanical manipulation and significantly reducing the time and effort required to navigate large or multiple displays
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service cursor control by automatically detecting the user's intended gaze direction and moving the cursor to the corresponding location without requiring manual intervention. The eye-tracking system monitors the user's natural eye movements and autonomously translates them into cursor navigation, allowing the system to serve itself in controlling the cursor based on the user's implicit intent
2Speed
If the cursor moves rapidly across large distances on displays, then cursor repositioning becomes instantaneous, but the cursor trajectory may become invisible and difficult to track
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic action by moving the cursor in discrete segments rather than as a single continuous rapid movement. The cursor is repositioned in multiple smaller steps along the trajectory from the starting position to the target location, with each segment visible to the user. This periodic movement pattern maintains high speed overall while ensuring the cursor remains visible throughout its journey, preventing loss of trajectory information
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic system tracks a user's gaze to rapidly transport a cursor to a location within a focal region of the user's eye. The electronic system transports the cursor from an initial location across one or more displays to a new location in response to detecting one or more saccadic and/or vergence movements of the user's eye or in response to a signal indicating that the user desires to move the cursor to a new location within a focal region of the user's eye or eyes. In some embodiments, the electronic system moves the cursor to the new location along a trajectory wherein the cursor is visible along at least a portion of the trajectory, enabling the user to find the cursor more easily.