Head-Mounted Display Optical System With Infrared Eye Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current head-mounted displays (HMDs) lack effective integration of real-world and virtual image overlay capabilities, particularly in dynamic environments, and do not efficiently adapt to user gaze direction and ambient conditions.
Innovation Solution
An optical system incorporating a display panel, a proximal beam splitter, an infrared light source, and an image former, along with an infrared camera, which generates a visible light pattern, illuminates the viewing location with infrared light, reflects visible light to form a virtual image, and transmits infrared light for eye-tracking, allowing context-sensitive information and adaptive image display based on pupil position and size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a head-mounted display overlays virtual images onto real-world views, then the augmented reality experience is enhanced, but the system lacks effective adaptation to user gaze direction and ambient conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system is designed to perform multiple functions through a unified optical path: displaying virtual images, capturing real-world scenes, and tracking eye movements all through the same optical components. The beam splitter and image former serve both display and sensing functions, eliminating the need for separate dedicated sensors and actuators for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the user's own eye as part of the sensing mechanism. By illuminating the eye with infrared light and capturing the reflected light through the same optical path, the system performs self-service eye tracking without requiring external tracking devices or complex mechanical sensors.
2Adaptability or versatility
If an optical system uses separate components for displaying virtual images and capturing real-world scenes, then functional separation is achieved, but integration of real-world and virtual image overlay capabilities is lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the optical paths for virtual image display and real-world scene capture by using a single beam splitter and image former assembly. Both functions share the same optical components, allowing seamless integration of virtual and real-world views while reducing the number of separate optical trains required.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical system components serve dual purposes: the beam splitter directs both virtual images from the display panel and real-world light from the environment to the user's eye, while also enabling the camera to capture both the user's eye for tracking and the environment for context awareness.
3Measurement precision
If the system implements eye-tracking functionality to adapt to user gaze, then context-awareness is improved, but the device requires additional infrared illumination and sensing components
Solution Approach 1:
The infrared illumination source and camera are integrated into the existing optical system, sharing the beam splitter and image former with the virtual display path. This allows the same optical components to serve both display and eye-tracking sensing functions, reducing the need for completely separate sensing subsystems.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical system uses reflected infrared light from the user's eye as an intermediary to obtain eye-tracking data. Rather than requiring direct contact sensors or complex mechanical measurement devices, the system captures the naturally reflected infrared light through the existing optical path to determine pupil position and size.
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
Enables seamless overlay of virtual images onto real-world views, adapting to user gaze direction and ambient conditions, enhancing the augmented reality experience with improved interaction and context-awareness.
Implementation Method 1
the image former is configured to reflect at least a portion of the visible light pattern from the display panel to form the virtual image
Implementation Method 2
an infrared light source configured to illuminate the viewing location with infrared light
Implementation Method 3
infrared light is reflected from the viewing location into the proximal beam splitter
Implementation Method 4
the image former is configured to reflect at least a portion of the visible light pattern from the display panel to form the virtual image and to transmit at least a portion of the collected infrared light
Data Source
AI summary
An optical system has an aperture through which virtual and real-world images are viewable along a viewing axis. The optical system may be incorporated into a head-mounted display (HMD). By illuminating a viewing location with an infrared light source, an eye pupil may be illuminated. Infrared light is reflected from the viewing location and is collected with a proximal beam splitter. An image former is configured to reflect at least a portion of the visible light pattern generated by the display panel to form the virtual image and transmit at least a portion of the collected infrared light. The transmitted infrared light may be imaged by a camera. The HMD may use images from the camera to provide, for example, context-sensitive virtual images to a wearer.