Eye Tracking Wearable Gaze Panning and Foveated Rendering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wearable devices with displays in VR and AR environments lack effective eye tracking solutions that accurately determine user gaze direction for improved interaction and content panning, leading to suboptimal user experience and increased power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A wearable device incorporating an eye tracking apparatus with image sensors and illumination sources that use gaze direction determination algorithms to modify content on the display, including the use of profile sensors, conventional image sensors, and illumination management to enhance accuracy and reduce power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If eye tracking apparatus with image sensors and illumination sources is added to wearable devices, then eye tracking accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple eye tracking approaches (profile sensor method and conventional image sensor method) into a single wearable device system. The profile sensor detects eye position through light reflection patterns, while conventional image sensors capture detailed eye images. By merging these different sensing modalities and their respective processing algorithms, the system achieves high measurement precision for gaze direction determination without requiring multiple separate devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The illumination sources in the eye tracking apparatus serve multiple functions: they illuminate the user's eyes for gaze detection, provide lighting for the display, and enable various eye tracking algorithms to function. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components, thereby managing device complexity while maintaining high measurement accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If conventional eye tracking methods are used in wearable devices, then gaze direction can be determined, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs foveated rendering which applies high-quality rendering only to the foveal region (where the user is currently looking) while using lower-quality rendering for peripheral regions. This partial application of high-resolution rendering based on gaze direction reduces overall power consumption while maintaining acceptable visual quality. The eye tracking apparatus determines gaze direction to dynamically adjust where high-quality rendering is applied.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically changes rendering parameters (quality, resolution, detail level) based on the user's gaze direction determined by the eye tracking apparatus. When the user looks at a particular region, that region receives high-quality rendering with full computational resources. Other regions use reduced-quality rendering with fewer computational resources. This parameter adjustment based on real-time gaze data significantly reduces power consumption while maintaining user experience.
3Use of energy by moving object
If foveated rendering is implemented based on gaze direction, then power consumption is reduced, but rendering quality in peripheral areas deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Foveated rendering applies different quality levels to different spatial regions of the display based on the user's gaze direction. The foveal region (current gaze point) receives high-quality rendering with full resolution and detail. Peripheral regions progressively reduce in quality, resolution, and computational detail. This local differentiation of quality matches the human visual system's characteristics and reduces overall power consumption while maintaining perceived visual quality in the important foveal region.
Solution Approach 2:
The rendering quality parameters are dynamically adjusted based on real-time gaze direction data from the eye tracking apparatus. As the user moves their eyes across the display, the high-quality rendering region dynamically follows the gaze point, and quality transitions smoothly between regions. This dynamic adaptation ensures that power consumption is optimized while maintaining high rendering quality wherever the user is currently looking.
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
The solution provides improved eye tracking accuracy, reduces power consumption by enabling foveated rendering, and enhances user interaction through precise gaze-based content panning and rendering adjustments, improving overall user experience in VR and AR environments.
Implementation Method 1
an eye tracking apparatus, the wearable device uses information obtained through the image sensor to alter information on the display
Implementation Method 2
A wearable device incorporating an eye tracking apparatus with image sensors and illumination sources
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for panning content on a display of a wearable device is disclosed. The method may include determining, via an eye tracking device, a gaze direction of a user. The method may also include determining, via a movement detection system, a head direction of the user. The method may further include, based at least in part on the gaze direction and the head direction both being consistent with a particular direction, causing content displayed on a display of the wearable device to be panned in the particular direction. The method may additionally include determining during panning of the content, via the eye tracking device, that the gaze direction of the user has returned to a neutral position. The method may moreover include, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the user returning to the neutral position, causing content displayed on the display to stop panning.