Stereo Vision Necklace for Depth Perception
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wearable cameras lack real-time processing and depth perception capabilities, limiting their ability to provide effective environmental awareness and social interaction feedback, especially for blind individuals.
Innovation Solution
A wearable computing device with a U-shaped housing, equipped with stereo cameras, a mobile processor, microphone, and speaker, that communicates with external mobile devices to provide haptic and audio feedback based on environmental data, enabling depth perception and object recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If wearable cameras are used to record user experience, then recording capability is provided, but real-time processing and depth perception information are lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple camera systems (stereo cameras, TOF cameras, LiDAR) within a single wearable device to integrate depth perception capabilities with standard recording functions, resolving the contradiction by merging information gathering functions rather than adding separate devices
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable device is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously - recording user experience, providing real-time depth perception, enabling object recognition, and offering haptic feedback - making a single device universal rather than requiring specialized equipment for each function
2Reliability
If stereo cameras are added to provide depth perception, then environmental awareness is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent nests multiple sensing systems (stereo cameras, TOF sensors, LiDAR) within a compact wearable housing, placing one system inside or alongside another to maximize space utilization and minimize overall device volume and weight
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable device employs thin-film sensor technologies and flexible circuit boards to reduce the thickness and weight of individual components, allowing multiple sensing systems to be integrated without proportionally increasing overall device mass
3Productivity
If real-time processing is implemented, then information feedback is enhanced, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system processes only the necessary portion of sensor data in real-time (critical depth information, obstacle detection) while deferring or summarizing less urgent data processing, performing partial processing to balance responsiveness with energy conservation
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable device leverages the processing power of connected mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) to handle intensive computational tasks, allowing the wearable to offload energy-intensive processing while maintaining real-time functionality through wireless communication
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable computing device includes an input/output port for communicating with an external mobile device, a microphone for receiving speech data, a speaker for outputting audio feedback data, and a mobile processor. The mobile processor is designed to receive detected speech data corresponding to a request to open an application on the external mobile device, transmit the request to the external mobile device, and receive a description of content within the application from the external mobile device. The mobile processor is also designed to transmit the description to the speaker to be output, receive detected speech data corresponding to a request for the external mobile device to perform an action within the application, and transmit the request to the external mobile device. The mobile processor is also designed to receive results of the action from the external mobile device and transmit the results to the speaker to be output.