Context-Aware Eyewear Image Overlays Without View Obstruction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobile devices, such as eyewear devices, struggle to effectively integrate image displays and sensors to provide context-based visual alerts or reminders based on the device's operational context, such as driving or shopping, without obstructing the user's view.
Innovation Solution
The eyewear device incorporates a visible light camera, image processor, and sensors to capture and analyze the environment, determine the contextual state, and overlay relevant images on the user's field of view using see-through displays or opaque displays, adjusting the image position based on eye movement and head tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If images are overlaid on the user's field of view to provide context-based visual alerts, then the user receives relevant information, but the user's view may be obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning images at specific locations within the user's field of view rather than displaying them full-screen. The image position is determined based on the user's gaze direction and head orientation, placing contextual information only where needed and preserving clarity in other areas. This allows selective information delivery without obstructing the overall view.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional full-screen display to a spatially-distributed overlay approach. By mapping images to specific three-dimensional positions in the user's field of view based on gaze and head orientation, the system adds a spatial dimension to information delivery. This allows multiple images to be displayed at different depths and locations without mutual obstruction, maintaining peripheral vision clarity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the device integrates image displays, cameras, and sensors to provide context-based alerts, then the device functionality is enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multi-functionality by using a single image display system to serve multiple purposes: displaying contextual information, providing visual alerts, and delivering reminders. The same display infrastructure handles different types of output based on the detected context (driving, shopping, dining, etc.), eliminating the need for separate specialized display systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically detecting the user's context through integration of cameras and sensors, then autonomously selecting and positioning appropriate images without user input. The device monitors its own operational state and environmental conditions, making intelligent decisions about what information to display and where, reducing the need for manual configuration or user interaction.
3Measurement precision
If images are positioned based on eye movement and head tracking, then the image positioning accuracy is improved, but the device complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the eye movement tracking and head orientation monitoring functions into an integrated system that processes both data streams simultaneously. By combining these tracking mechanisms, the system achieves more accurate and robust image positioning than separate systems could provide alone, while sharing processing resources to reduce overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring eye movement and head orientation, using this real-time information to dynamically adjust image positioning. The displayed images are constantly repositioned based on the user's changing gaze and head position, creating a closed-loop system that adapts to user behavior. This feedback mechanism ensures precise image placement without requiring overly complex processing, as the adjustments are made incrementally based on sensor input.
Data Source
AI summary
System, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium for presenting images on a mobile device. Images are presented by monitoring one or more physical characteristics surrounding the mobile device using at least one sensor, determining a contextual state of the mobile device based on the monitored one or more physical characteristics, selecting an image from a plurality of related images associated with the determined contextual state, generating at least one overlay image from the selected image, and presenting the at least one overlay image with an optical assembly of the mobile device.