3-D Target Location via Eye Tracking and Stereoscopic Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current remote display systems lack the ability to provide three-dimensional (3-D) information, making it difficult for operators to determine the range to a target, which is critical in applications such as arthroscopic surgery and combat systems where precise location is essential.
Innovation Solution
The system uses eye and head tracking to control remote video cameras, allowing operators to control camera movements and settings through natural eye and head movements, enabling automatic rotation and positioning of cameras to match the operator's gaze, thereby providing 3-D location determination of targets within a remote 3-D display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual camera control is used in remote display systems, then operators can control camera movements, but operators experience high manual and cognitive workload and cannot efficiently determine 3-D target location
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows the operator's natural eye and head movements to automatically control the remote camera's pan, tilt, and zoom functions. The eyetracker detects gaze direction and head position sensors detect orientation, translating these natural movements into camera control commands without requiring manual operation, thereby reducing workload while maintaining precise 3-D target location capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical camera control with an automated sensor-based control system. Eyetrackers, head position sensors, and processors substitute for manual camera operation, converting natural human movements into automated camera positioning that determines 3-D target location without manual intervention
2Loss of information
If remote video sensors are used to observe targets, then operators can detect targets from distance, but operators cannot see in 3-D and cannot determine range to target
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from 2-D video display to 3-D stereoscopic display by using two video cameras positioned at different locations to capture images from different perspectives. The stereoscopic display processor combines these images to create a 3-D representation, restoring depth information and enabling accurate range determination to targets
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a stereoscopic display processor as an intermediary that synthesizes 3-D images from two separate video camera feeds. This processor creates a virtual 3-D environment that preserves spatial relationships and depth information, allowing operators to perceive range and 3-D location without being physically present at the target
3Extent of automation
If eye and head tracking systems are implemented to control cameras automatically, then operators can reduce manual workload, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a single integrated control mechanism where both eye tracking and head position sensing work together to control multiple camera functions (pan, tilt, zoom). This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate control systems, reducing overall complexity while achieving high automation for 3-D target location determination
Data Source
AI summary
A target is imaged in a three-dimensional real space using two or more video cameras. A three-dimensional image space combined from two video cameras of the two or more video cameras is displayed to a user using a stereoscopic display. A right eye and a left eye of the user are imaged as the user is observing the target in the stereoscopic video display, a right gaze line of the right eye and a left gaze line of the left eye are calculated in the three-dimensional image space, and a gazepoint in the three-dimensional image space is calculated as the intersection of the right gaze line and the left gaze line using a binocular eyetracker. A real target location is determined by translating the gazepoint in the three-dimensional image space to the real target location in the three-dimensional real space from the locations and the positions of the two video cameras using a processor.