Head-Mounted Display Sleep Detection and External View Switching
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing head-mounted display (HMD) devices do not account for situations where a user falls asleep while wearing them, leading to a dangerous state where the user is unaware of their surroundings.
Innovation Solution
The HMD includes a second image inputting unit to capture binocular images of the wearer, determining wakefulness or sleepiness based on eye closure duration, and only displays the external world image when the wearer wakes up.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the HMD displays images continuously to provide immersive experience, then the display function is improved, but the user's awareness of surroundings deteriorates when the user falls asleep
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of the user's sleep state using eye image acquisition before a dangerous situation occurs. By detecting closed eyes and determining sleep state in advance, the system can proactively switch the display to external world images, preventing the user from remaining unaware of their surroundings while sleeping with the HMD on.
2Productivity
If the HMD blocks the user's view to provide immersive display, then the display immersion is improved, but the user's ability to check surroundings deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The display mode dynamically changes based on the user's state. The system transitions between immersive display mode (when user is awake) and external world display mode (when user is detected to be sleeping), allowing the HMD to adapt its display characteristics to the user's current condition rather than maintaining a fixed display state.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the eye image acquisition unit to monitor the user's eye state and automatically adjusts the display content accordingly. When the feedback indicates closed eyes for a prolonged period, the system responds by switching to external world images, creating a closed-loop control system that ensures user safety.
3Device complexity
If the HMD operates without sleep detection, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to detect user state deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The eye image acquisition unit serves multiple functions: it monitors the user's eye state for sleep detection, tracks eye movement for display control, and provides visual feedback for user interaction. By making this single component multi-functional, the system achieves comprehensive user state detection without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A video transmissive head-mounted display device capable of avoiding danger to a user when worn by the user has an external world image acquired by a first image inputting unit, and the external world image is displayed on a display unit. The head-mounted display device has a second image inputting unit that acquires a binocular image of a wearer. The head-mounted display device is configured so that a control unit determines, from the binocular image of the wearer acquired by the second image inputting unit, that the wearer is awake when both eyes are closed for no longer than a predetermined period of time and that the wearer is asleep when both eyes are closed for a predetermined period of time or longer, and the display unit displays the external world image acquired by the first image inputting unit when the wearer wakes from sleep.