Gaze Tracking Error Logging for VR Headsets
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Solution Overview
Problem
The process of logging bugs or errors in videogames and virtual reality applications is slow due to the need to remove and reattach head-mounted displays, disrupting the testing process.
Innovation Solution
An error logging system that utilizes gaze tracking capabilities of head-mounted displays to allow testers to identify and capture errors by gazing at the issue while wearing the HMD, using a two-step process involving a start capture button and gaze tracking to record the error's location and relevant data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If testers remove head-mounted display to create error records, then error logging can be performed, but testing continuity is disrupted and time is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical action of removing and reattaching the head-mounted display with an optical/gaze-based system. The HMD includes a camera that captures the user's gaze direction and overlays a reticule on the display, allowing error location to be indicated through eye movement rather than physical device manipulation. This substitution eliminates the time loss associated with mechanical removal and reattachment while maintaining accurate error documentation.
2Reliability
If traditional error logging process is used, then errors can be recorded, but the process is slow and interrupts testing flow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous testing by allowing error logging to occur without removing the HMD. The system continuously captures gaze data and allows error reporting to be integrated into the natural testing flow. Testers can identify and log errors while maintaining the immersive VR experience, ensuring the useful action of testing continues uninterrupted while still achieving reliable error documentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of a camera, reticule overlay, and coordinate tracking mechanism. This intermediary translates the user's natural gaze into precise error location data without requiring the user to exit the VR environment. The reticule acts as a mediator between the user's eye movement and the error logging system, capturing coordinates automatically while the testing continues seamlessly.
3Loss of information
If HMD is removed for error documentation, then detailed records can be created, but user experience is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical interaction of removing the HMD with an optical gaze-tracking system. The camera mounted on the HMD captures the user's eye direction and translates it into a reticule position on the display. This allows detailed error location information to be captured through natural eye movements while the user remains immersed in the VR environment, maintaining both information capture quality and operational convenience.
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
Streamlines the error logging process by enabling testers to capture and report errors efficiently without interrupting their experience, improving the speed and accuracy of quality assurance testing in virtual reality environments.
Implementation Method 1
track the gaze of the user using a camera to an estimated location on a display
Data Source
AI summary
A method of error logging includes: receiving from a user interface a first input from a user indicating that they have seen a visible error in a displayed graphical output of a computer application, tracking the gaze of the user to estimate the position, on at least a first display showing at least part of the displayed graphical output, at which the user's gaze is directed, receiving from the user interface a second input from the user indicating that they have identified the visible error with their gaze, capturing data relating to the displayed graphical output of the computer application, the data including a capture of at least part of the displayed graphical output including the identified visible error, and the estimated positon of the user's gaze with respect to the displayed graphical output, and generating an error report including the captured data.