Fatigue Evaluation Using Oblique Eye Imaging

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing fatigue evaluation methods require user interruption, leading to decreased labor productivity and potential accumulation of additional mental fatigue, as they often rely on visual recognition and direct measurement, making it difficult to accurately detect mental fatigue.

Innovation Solution

A fatigue evaluation system that uses machine learning to generate a learned model from images of the eye and its surroundings acquired from a side or oblique direction, allowing for non-visual recognition and continuous monitoring, thereby reducing the impact on labor productivity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If fatigue evaluation is performed using visual recognition methods, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to work interruption and additional mental fatigue

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefatigue detection accuracyVSAvoidlabor productivity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using front-facing cameras for visual recognition (conventional approach), the patent uses side or oblique direction cameras to capture eye images. This inverted viewing angle allows fatigue evaluation without requiring the user to look at or interact with the detection device, thereby avoiding additional mental fatigue and work interruption while maintaining measurement precision through machine learning-based analysis of eye characteristics from alternative angles

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Reliability

If continuous fatigue monitoring is implemented, then reliability is improved, but harmful factors increase due to additional mental fatigue from visual recognition

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefatigue evaluation reliabilityVSAvoidmental fatigue

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces side/oblique direction cameras as an intermediary device that indirectly captures eye characteristics without requiring direct visual interaction. This intermediary approach allows continuous monitoring to proceed in the background without the user consciously engaging with the device, thereby maintaining reliability through continuous data collection while avoiding the harmful effect of additional mental fatigue that would result from direct visual recognition tasks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS20220273211A1Fatigue evaluation system and fatigue evaluation device

Publication Date: 2022.09.01 SEMICON ENERGY LAB CO LTD

AI summary

A fatigue evaluation system is provided. The fatigue evaluation system includes an accumulation portion, a generation portion, a storage portion, an acquisition portion, and a measurement portion. The accumulation portion has a function of accumulating a plurality of first images and a plurality of second images. The plurality of first images are images of an eye and its surroundings acquired from a side or an oblique direction. The plurality of second images are images of an eye and its surroundings acquired from a front. The generation portion has a function of performing supervised learning and generating a learned model. The storage portion has a function of storing the learned model. The acquisition portion has a function of acquiring a third image. The third image is an image of an eye and its surroundings acquired from a side or an oblique direction. The measurement portion has a function of measuring fatigue from the third image on the basis of the learned model.