Retractable Mouth-Tracking Camera Layout for Lower XR Thermal Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices face thermal management challenges due to high power and processing demands from object detection and tracking operations, leading to stability and performance issues, particularly in compact designs like XR devices with sub-optimal camera placements that require extensive software processing and increased power consumption.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable camera system with a retractable and extendable camera structure that includes a lens and sensor, allowing optimal placement for mouth tracking with minimal software processing, reducing the need for multiple cameras and pluggable hardware, and incorporating a motorized mechanism for controlled extension and retraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If object detection and tracking operations are implemented with high processing power, then tracking accuracy is improved, but thermal management problems and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the camera module from the main device body and places it on an extendable structure that can be positioned close to the mouth. This physical extraction allows the camera to capture mouth movements directly, reducing the need for complex software processing and thereby reducing thermal load and power consumption while maintaining tracking accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The camera structure is extended before mouth tracking begins, positioning the camera in optimal proximity to the mouth in advance. This preliminary positioning enables direct capture of mouth movements, eliminating the need for extensive post-processing and reducing computational requirements during operation
2Volume of moving object
If camera is placed in compact device body, then device compactness is improved, but camera placement becomes sub-optimal requiring extensive software processing
Solution Approach 1:
The camera module is mounted on a dynamically extendable structure that can change its position relative to the device body. When mouth tracking is needed, the structure extends to position the camera close to the mouth, providing optimal capture angle and reducing software processing requirements while maintaining device compactness when retracted
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to the camera placement by using an extendable structure that moves the camera from the device body outward toward the mouth. This dimensional change allows the camera to achieve optimal positioning without increasing the device's base footprint, thereby maintaining compactness while improving tracking efficiency
3Measurement precision
If multiple cameras and pluggable hardware are used, then mouth tracking capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The extendable camera structure serves multiple functions: it acts as a structural support, a positioning mechanism, and a mounting platform for the camera module. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate pluggable hardware components while achieving optimal mouth tracking capability through precise positioning
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques are provided for an adjustable camera system for mouth tracking. An example apparatus can include a housing with an opening formed in a first side of the housing, wherein one or more surfaces of the housing are configured to engage a head of a user; and a structure including a lens configured to receive incident light, wherein the structure is configured to move from a retracted state where at least a portion of the structure is retracted into the opening in the first side of the housing, to an extended state where at least a portion of the structure that includes the lens structure extends from the first side of the housing.